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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



HEART TALKS 



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HEART TALKS 



A Volume of Confidential Talks 
on the Problems, Privileges, and 
Duties of the Christian Life, De- 
signed to Comfort, Encourage, 
Strengthen and Instruct 



/ 

By C; W. Naylor 



GOSPEL TRUMPET COMPANY 

Anderson, Indiana, - - U. S. A. 






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Copyright, 1922, 

by 

Gospel Trumpet Company 



MAY -4 '22 

©GI.A674125 



CONCERNING THE AUTHOR 

The author of " Heart Talks" has been peculiarly qualified 
for his task by a training of the soul in the school of suffering. 
After thirteen years in the ministry, as a result of an internal 
injury he has been compelled to spend the last thirteen years 
in his bed day and night, a constant sufferer. He has known 
the experience of long and intense suffering with no hope of 
relief from any human source, and with no other prospect for 
the future than that of remaining a helpless invalid for life 
and without a means of earning a livelihood. He has learned 
the lesson of patience through suffering. He has learned to 
trust God for the supply of his temporal needs because there 
was no other to trust. He has learned to commune with God 
by being deprived of the opportunity of mingling much with 
his fellow men. 

Yet he has not lost the joy out of life. He still does what 
he can to build up the kingdom of God and bless his fellow 
men by his words of good cheer. He is still interested in the 
events of the world, and especially in the progress of God's 
work. He has demonstrated the efficacy of God's grace to 
sustain one and give joy in the very discouraging circum- 
stances of life. Though a firm believer in divine healing, and 
instrumental in the healing of those who kneel at his bedside 
for prayer, yet he has not received permanent healing, be- 
cause, as he believes, this is God's method of developing his 
heart and making him more useful in helping others. 

During the last five years especially he has contributed reg- 
ularly to- a religious periodical articles on subjects similar to 
those in this book, besides conducting a ' ' Questions Answered ' ' 
and information department, and writing a number of books. 

The Publishers. 



PREFACE 

Most of the miscellaneous writings of which this vol- 
ume is composed appeared originally in serial form. 
The widespread interest produced by them, the hun- 
dreds of letters of appreciation, and the numerous earn- 
est requests for their publication in permanent form 
have been the moving cause for their presentation in 
this volume. They cover a very wide range of topics, 
are written in a popular style, and deal with phases of 
life and personal experience that are all too much neg- 
lected but which every Christian needs to understand. 
Each paper is complete in itself, though all have a gen- 
eral relation. They are pastoral in nature and have by 
the blessings of God comforted, encouraged, strength- 
ened, and enlightened many souls. That they may by 
divine help continue to be a blessing to many is the 
earnest desire of 

The Author. 

Anderson, Ind., May 14, 1920. 



vii 



CONTENTS 

What It Mjeans to Trust the Lord 11 

The Blessing of Dissatisfaction 20 

Why I Believe the Old Book 26 

He Maketh Me to Lie Down 34 

Blighted Blossoms — - 37 

Meeting the Lions 41 

Egg-Shell Christians 45 

Two Ways of Seeing 50 

The Living Bible 56 

Heeding Intutional Warnings 58 

Doing Something Worth While 62 

Home-Made Clouds : 66 

It Pleased the Lord to Bruise Him 71 

Putting Clouds Over the Sun 76 

What Is Your Word Worth? 80 

How to Keep Out of Trouble 86 

What the Redbird Told Me 91 

What Old Bill Could Not Do 95 

Divine and Worldly Conformity 100 

Baptized With Fire 107 

What to Do With the Devil 112 

Waiting on the Lord 117 

Three Necessary " Rations' ' 124 

A Retreat, or a Rout? 130 

My Dream Message 135 

When God Withdraws Himself 140 

What Happened to Solomon 143 

Fighting the Good Fight of Faith 147 

How Are Your Ear Connections? 151 

Fret Not Thyself.... 156 

Being Easily Entreated 161 

Following " Whithersoever " 166 

Paul 's Persuasion 170 

ix 



In Christ and in Ephesus 175 

The Practical Side of Eeligion 180 

Do You Need Patience? 185 

Stumbling-Stones, or Stepping-Stones? 189 

Use What You Have 194 

Where the Joy Is 199 

Blowing the Clouds Away 203 

How to Fertilize Love 206 

How to Overcome Disappointment 210 

The Big End of Trouble 213 

Self -Made Barriers 217 

How to Work God's Joy-Machine 222 

Be Brave 231 

"But Jesus Sent Him Away 7 ' 233 

Getting the Kernel 236 

Two Sunsets 240 

The Sculptor >s Work 244 

When Consciences Differ 248 

The Helplessness cf the Gospel 255 

He Careth for You 258 

Three Tests of Love 261 

Two Ways of Eising 267 

Getting Even 269 

Do You Know Yourself? 272 

Balkers 277 

Sponges and Watering-Cans 280 

The Final Retrospect 283 



HEART TALKS 



TALK ONE 
WHAT IT MEANS TO TRUST THE LORD 

Throughout the Bible we are exhorted again and again 
to trust in the Lord. We are warned against trusting in 
princes, in riches, or in ourselves; for all such trust is 
vain. Trusting in the Lord is represented as being safe, 
as blessed, and as producing very desirable results. In 
it is our hope, our strength, our safety, and our help. 

But what does trust mean ? It does not mean careless- 
ness or indifference. Just to let things go and say, 
"Oh, I guess it will come out all right," is not trusting. 
Just drifting heedlessly with the tide is not trust. Neg- 
lect is not trust. Trust is something positive. It is a 
real something, not a mere happen-so or maybe-so. It 
is a definite attitude of soul and mind, a realization of 
our own need and of God's sufficiency. It is the reach- 
ing out and anchoring of ourselves in God. 

The soul who really trusts is not driven about by every 
wind. The waves beat against him as they beat against 
the anchored ship, but they can not dash him upon the 
rocks ; for he who trusts in God is strong, because he has 
the strength of God. 

Trust does not mean shutting our eyes to facts. There 
is no such thing as "blind faith." Trust looks at things 
as they are. It sees the dangers that threaten, and 

xi 



12 HEART TALKS 

assesses them at their true value. It sees the need, and 
does not try to disguise it. It sees the difficulties, and 
does not discount them. But seeing all this, it looks 
beyond and sees God, its all-sufficient help. It sees him 
greater than the needs or the dangers or the difficulties, 
and it does not shrink before them. 

There is no fear in trust : the two are opposites. When 
we really fear, we are not fully trusting. When we trust, 
fear gives way to assurance. Fear is tormenting. How 
many there are who are constantly agitated by fear! 
They fear the devil, trials, temptations, the wind, light- 
ning, burglars, and a thousand other things. Their 
days are haunted by fear of this thing or that. Their 
peace is marred and their hearts are troubled. For all 
this, trust is the cure. I do not mean to say that if you 
trust, nothing will ever startle you or frighten you, or 
that you will never feel physical fear in time of danger ; 
but in such times trust will bring to us a consciousness 
that the Lord knows and cares, and that his helping 
presence is with us. 

When John Wesley was crossing the Atlantic from 
England to America to become a missionary to the 
Indians, the ship on which he was sailing encountered 
a terrible storm. It seemed that those on board would 
be lost. Many were much alarmed and were in deep 
distress. Wesley himself was one of this number. In 
the midst of the storm his attention was attracted to 
some Moravians who sat calm and undisturbed by the 
dangers about them. Wesley greatly wondered at their 
untroubled appearance. He inquired why it was. Their 
reply was that they were trusting in the Lord and that 



WHAT IT MEANS TO TRUST THE LORD 13 

they had in their souls the consciousness of his pro- 
tecting presence and care. They felt no fear because 
there was nothing threatening that a Christian had need 
to fear. Mr. Wesley did not have such an experience, 
but what he learned from those simple-hearted people 
caused him to seek a similar experience. 

There is no worry in trust. When we worry about 
anything, we have not committed it to God. Trust takes 
away the anxiety. So many people use up a large por- 
tion of their energy in worry. There is always some- 
thing troubling them. Their days and nights are full 
of anxiety. Worrying becomes a fixed habit with them. 
Peace and calmness and assurance find but little room in 
their lives. The cure for all this is trust. Trust brings 
confidence. Trust whispers to our souls that there is 
no cause to worry. It tells us that God holds the helm 
of our vessel. It bids us to be of good courage, assuring 
us that God is our refuge and strength, that our lives 
and all are in his hands, and that he will work out for 
us the things that are best. 

soul, stop worrying, and trust. It is so much bet- 
ter. If you find yourself worrying, stop right there 
Take your eyes off the things that trouble you ; look up, 
and keep looking up till you see God and his infinite 
care for you. Remember that when you worry you are 
not trusting, and that when you trust you are not 
worrying. Worry depresses, discourages, and weakens. 
It never helps us in any way. It is always a hindrance 
to us. God wants to bring into our lives a peaceful calm 
like that of a summer evening. He would have us without 
anxiety, as care-free as the birds or the lilies. It is trust 



14 HEART TALKS 

that brings us this experience. Will you not learn to 
trust? " Casting all your care on him; for he careth 
for you." 

There is no murmuring in trust. When all is trusted 
into God's hands, it brings to us a feeling of satisfaction 
concerning God's dealings with us. We can sing from 
our hearts, " God's way is best; I will not murmur." 
When we trust, it is easy to praise. When we trust, the 
heart is full of thankful appreciation. If you are in- 
clined to murmur, it is because you do not trust. 

There is no feeling of bitterness when things do not 
go as we think they should, if we are trusting. Bitter- 
ness comes from rebellion, and there is no rebellion in 
trust. Trust can always say, "Not my will, but thine, 
be done." 

In trust there is peace, the peace of God which passeth 
understanding. There is calm in the soul of him who 
trusts. There is no doubt in trust, for doubt is swallowed 
up in assurance, and assurance brings calmness and 
peace. 

Trusting brings confidence. It permits us to see God 
in his true character. It causes us to realize the great- 
ness and tenderness of his love. It gives us a conscious- 
ness of his might, and through it we are sheltered under 
his wings. By it our enemies lose their power; our 
dangers, their terrors. We have a consciousness of safe- 
ty, and that brings rest. He has said, "Ye shall find 
rest unto your souls. ' ' He who trusts finds this soul-rest. 
God has not given us turmoil and trouble. He has said ; 
"In me ye shall have peace"; and again, "My peace 
I give unto you." Are not these precious promises? 



WHAT IT MEANS TO TRUST THE LORD 15 

Are they true in your life ? God means that they shall 
be. Trust will make them real to you. They never can be 
real until you learn to trust. Trust is the root that up- 
holds and nourishes the tree of Christian life. It is trust 
that causes it to blossom and to bring forth fruit, and 
the more fully you trust, the greater and richer and 
more profuse will be the fruits of your righteousness. 

I have told you something about trust, but I now 
wish to speak of some other things that belong to trust. 
Trust implies submission. Very often God fails to do 
things for us because we do not permit him to. We 
want to plan for ourselves. We want things to be done 
in the way that seems best to our finite wisdom. 

Too many of us are like a woman whose husband re- 
cently said that they had often gone driving together, 
that their horse would sometimes become frightened, and 
that when it did, his wife would also become frightened 
and would almost invariably seize the lines. Thus, he 
would have to manage both his wife and the horse, mak- 
ing his task doubly difficult. 

How many of us are just like that woman! When 
anything threatens, we become alarmed and try to help 
God. We feel that it is not safe to leave all in his hands 
and let him manage the circumstances. Our failure to 
submit to him often complicates matters, and it is harder 
for him to manage us than it is to manage the difficulties. 
To trust God means to keep our hands off the lines. 
If means to let him have his way and do things as he 
thinks best. It may be a hard lesson to learn, but you 
will hinder God until you learn it. 

"It is God which worketh in you both to will and to 



16 HEART TALKS 

do of his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). If your life 
is submitted to him, he will work in you to will as well 
as to do. He will help do the planning as well as the 
working out. He will aid you in the choosing, no less 
than in the doing. If you can not submit to him thus, 
you have not reached the place where you can trust. 
You must first learn to take your hands off yourself and 
off circumstances; then trust will be natural and easy. 
How can you trust him if you are not willing for him 
to do just as it pleases him ? When you have submitted 
all and he has his way fully with you, then the blessed 
fruitfulness of trust will come into your life. 

Trust also implies obedience. It means working with 
God to produce the results. We can not sit down and 
fold our hands in idleness and expect things to work 
themselves out. We must be workers, not shirkers. The 
man who prays for a bountiful harvest but prepares 
no ground and plants no seed will pray in vain. Faith 
and, works must go together. We must permit God to 
direct our efforts and command our efforts. We must 
be willing to work when he wants us to work and in the 
way he wants us to work. Our attempts to trust will 
amount to nothing if we are not willing to obey. Right 
here is the secret of many people's trouble; they are 
willing to obey so long as the thing commanded is what 
they themselves would choose, but when it is otherwise 
they are not so ready. Our obedience must be full and 
willing,* or we can not trust. 

Trust implies patience. Even God can not work 
everything out immediately. We are told that "ye have 
need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of 



WHAT IT MEANS TO TRUST THE LORD 17 

God, ye might receive the promise" (Heb. 10: 36). So 
many times we want the answers to our prayers right 
away. If they do not come thus, we grow impatient and 
think God is not going to answer. There is no use trying 
to hurry the Lord; we shall only hinder him if we do. 
He will not work according to our plans, but according 
to his own. Time does not matter so much to the eternal 
One as it does to us. 

A brother once came to the altar in a meeting I helped 
to hold. In telling his trouble he said, "When I want 
anything done, it has to be done in a hurry." Many 
other people can not be patient and wait. They want 
it now. This is a great hindrance to their faith. The 
Psalmist says, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently 
for him" (Psa. 37: 7). We are not only to wait patient- 
ly for him to work out his purpose, but we are at the 
same time to rest in him. Some people can wait, but 
they can not rest at the same time. They are uneasy and 
impatient; they want to hurry the Lord all the time. 
The result usually is that their faith does not last very 
long. You must add patience to your faith to make it 
effective. If you really trust, you can be patient. It 
may not aways be easy, but the more perfect your trust, 
the easier it will be to be patient. 

When Luther was summoned to meet the diet for trial 
on a charge of heresy, his friends, fearing for his life, 
tried to persuade him not to go ; but he declared that he 
would go even if there were as many devils there as there 
were tiles on the housetops. He trusted God, and that 
trust gave him an unwavering courage. Three Hebrews 
trusted God, and the fiery furnace could not even singe 



18 HEART TALKS 

their garments. Daniel trusted Gad, and the hungry 
lions could not touch him. Many thousands of others 
have trusted God with similar results. 

But trusting God is an active, positive thing. A pas- 
sive submission or surrender to circumstances is not 
trust. Trusting the Lord to save us means to definitely 
rely on him to do it; to confidently expect that he will 
do it. This leads directly to the confident trust that he 
does do it. It brings the conscious assurance that it is an 
accomplished fact. We are not left to doubt, to hope, 
or to guess; but we have a positive trust that brings a 
positive result. 

The same is true of sanctification. A positive faith 
brings a positive experience ; and so long as our faith re- 
mains positive, the experience remains positive. It is 
only when faith begins to waver and doubts appear that 
the experience becomes uncertain. If you will maintain 
a positive faith, God will take care of your experience. 
Here lies the secret of continuous victory. There may 
be conflicts, but faith is the foundation of sure victory. 

Trusting the Lord for healing means more than refus- 
ing to employ a physician and to take drugs. People 
who do not trust God at all often refuse to use drugs. 
They may at no time during their sickness really exercise 
an act of faith for healing. They simply surrender to 
existing conditions and hope that it will come out all 
right. In many such cases nature will overcome the 
disease, and the person will recover. The "prayer of 
faith," however, is positive; it saves the sick; it brings 
healing. Sometimes the sick person, because of the men- 
tal effects of his sickness, is not able to exercise faith; 



WHAT IT MEANS TO TRUST THE LORD 19 

but when he is able, faith will be an active, positive 
thing with him, if the desired results are to follow. 

It is safe to trust in the Lord. Isaiah says, "I will 
trust, and not be afraid' ' (Isa. 12: 2). That is the way 
God wants us to trust. He would have us be confident in 
him. But sometimes we get to looking at circumstances, 
and they loom up so threateningly before us that in spite 
of ourselves we tremble and shrink before them. We 
believe that God will take care of us and help us, but we 
can not quiet our fears. Our feelings are very much as 
they are when we stand just outside the bars of the cage 
of a ferocious wild beast. We know it can not reach us ; 
we know we are safe from those powerful teeth and 
claws ; but still we can not help having a feeling that we 
should not have were we somewhere else. When he comes 
to our side of the cage, we shrink involuntarily, but still 
we trust the iron bars and do not run away. 

The Psalmist tells us what to do when we have such 
fears. "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee" 
(Psa. 56 : 3) . Still keep trusting. God will not chide you 
for the fears you can not help, but only for those that 
come from unbelief. Trust in God. It is the safest thing 
you have ever done; and he will never fail you. 



20 HEART TALKS 

TALK TWO 
THE BLESSING OF DISSATISFACTION 

A young sister sat in a room one beautiful summer 
afternoon. The sound of the birds chirping on the lawn 
and other noises of the out-of-doors came in through 
the open window to her. There was a look of melan- 
choly upon her face, and her gaze rested steadily upon 
the floor. It was clear that she was troubled about some- 
thing. Just then, a minister entered the room. Noticing 
her forlorn appearance, he said cheerily, "What is 
the matter, sister?" 

She looked up at him and answered wearily, i i Broth- 
er A, I am so dissatisfied." 

"Well," he replied, "I am glad of it." 

She almost gasped with astonishment, and exclaimed, 
' ' Why, Brother A ! what do you mean ? ' ' 

He then sat down in a chair near her and explained to 
her the substance of what I am going to say] to you. 

We have all thought how good it is to be satisfied 
How many times we have heard people testify and rejoice 
that they had reached this experience ! I would not 
depreciate this sense of satisfaction, for out of it come 
many enjoyable things. It is a very pleasurable feeling 
and one that most people very earnestly desire. There 
are times, however, when such a feeling would be any- 
thing but a blessing. Perhaps this surprizes you as it 
did the sister. God has made provision to satisfy us. 
Christ said that he who would drink of the water of life 
should thirst no more ; for it should be in him a well of 



THE BLESSING OF DISSATISFACTION 21 

water, and thus his thirst should be continually quenched. 
So there is a continual satisfaction in God. It is a good 
thing to be thus satisfied with God and his plans and 
ways and with our salvation, and dissatisfaction with 
any of these, if we are saved, is an evil to which we should 
not give place; but hardly any greater evil could come 
upon us than a complete and constant sense of satisfac 
tion relating to our attainments in grace, the develop- 
ment of our spiritual powers, or the measures of our 
service to God. 

Dissatisfaction is the mother of progress. The Chinese 
for centuries have been taught to be satisfied with hav- 
ing things like their fathers had. As a consequence they 
have almost entirely lost the inventive faculty. Long ago 
they were an inventive nation, but now an invention 
among them is a rarity. As long as people are satisfied, 
they are content to remain as they are. Satisfaction 
is the foe to progress. As long as you are fully satisfied, 
you are like a sailing-vessel in a dead calm. The sea 
about you may be very smooth. Everything may be very 
peaceful and serene. But all the time this calm pre- 
vails you are getting nowhere; you are at a standstill. 
It is only when the wind rises and the swells begin to 
move the vessel up and down and the sails begin to strain 
that good progress begins. You may feel very comfort- 
able in your satisfaction. It may be very delightful and 
dreamy, but it may be dangerous also. Those who are 
fully satisfied for very long may be sure that there is 
need for an investigation. It is only when we become 
dissatisfied with present conditions and attainments that 
we are spurred to effectual effort to make progress. 



22 HEART TALKS 

Suppose God had been satisfied with world-conditions 
before Christ came. We should now have no Savior and 
no salvation. He was dissatisfied, thoroughly dissatis- 
fied, and so he made the greatest sacrifice that he could 
make to change existing conditions. Paul was once very 
well satisfied with his place in the Jewish religion; he 
was not looking for anything better. His dissatisfaction 
arose from the fact that some other people were not 
satisfied thus but were finding and advocating something 
different. This aroused his severest condemnation. What 
he had was good enough for him and ought to be good 
enough for them. 

There are many today who are just like Paul was. 
They are fully contented in their present situation, and 
should any one try to show them its insufficiency and the 
need of higher attainment, it would only arouse their 
opposition and indignation. That is why so many people 
oppose holiness. Just as soon as Paul saw Christ and 
the higher and better things for which Christ stood, he 
suddenly lost his satisfaction and became an earnest 
seeker for those better things. Sometimes it takes a 
rude shock to break through our self-satisfaction and 
to show us our true needs; but when it comes and 
arouses a dissatisfaction, it is truly a blessing. 

Suppose Luther had been satisfied to continue in the 
Romish church, approving and submitting to her teach- 
ings and practises. Where might the world have been 
today? He became dissatisfied and gave voice to that 
dissatisfaction Others heard and became dissatisfied. 
This dissatisfaction made their hearts hungry for God, 
and out of that heart-hunger came the Reformation. 



THE BLESSING OF DISSATISFACTION 23 

Dissatisfaction has brought to us the multitude of new 
things which we have to use and enjoy. It has been be- 
cause men became dissatisfied with old methods and old 
implements and old ideas and customs and old attain- 
ments that they have toiled in painful research, that 
they have labored night and day to invent new things. 
In some places people still plow with a crooked stick 
and grind their flour in hand-mills. What their fathers 
had is good enough for them. Some people are like that 
about religion. What their fathers had is good enough 
for them, and they are indignant if we even suggest 
something better; they are satisfied. There are others 
who sought and obtained a real experience of forgive- 
ness, but right there they stopped. Years have passed. 
They were satisfied when they were first saved (which 
was a very good thing) • the only trouble was that they 
remained satisfied and never made any further progress. 
They hear entire sanctifieation preached, they accept the 
doctrine intellectually, but they can never be persuaded 
to press on into the experience themselves. They go on 
from year to year and never make any real spiritual 
advancement. What is the trouble? Oh, they are just 
satisfied, that is all ; and they will never get any further 
till their sleepy satisfaction is rudely broken in upon by 
something that startles them out of their security and 
awakens them to their needs. That will bring dissatis- 
faction and that in time will set them to seeking to have 
those needs supplied. 

Some people are content just to drift with the tides. 
They go along with the crowd, whichever way sentiment 
goes, and are quite content. They are no real moral 



24 HEART TALKS 

force in their community or in the church. They are 
aware of the fact, and they seem to be satisfied to have 
it so. They will never amount to very much so long as 
they are thus satisfied. Getting dissatisfied is the only 
thing that will ever make anything worth while of them. 

There are those who know that they are less spiritual 
than they used to be ; still, they are not much concerned 
about it. They are resting very easy. Such satisfaction 
is a curse. What such folks need is a good case of dis- 
satisfaction ; for that is the only thing that will keep them 
from drying up and withering away. I know of people 
who once had a glorious experience but who for years 
have been so satisfied with themselves that they have 
not progressed an inch. Instead, they have gone back- 
wards, with the result that today they are cold and 
formal. They are still satisfied, they still profess to be 
justified and sanctified, but they amount to practically 
nothing for G-od or the church. There is no moral force 
radiating from their lives. To such persons the coming 
of dissatisfaction would be a great blessing. So long as 
they are satisfied with their present condition, so long 
they will be cold formalists. 

Some people know that they are coming short both 
of their duty and of their privileges in the Lord, but in 
spite of this they seem content and are making no effort 
— at least no effective effort — to do better. brother, 
sister, if you are satisfied where you ought to be dis- 
satisfied, it is time you awakened, it is time you looked 
toward better things until your hunger for them stirred 
you to action to obtain them. 

To those who are dissatisfied, who realize vour needs 



THE BLESSING OF DISSATISFACTION 25 

and lacks, I say : Do not be discouraged. God means by 
this very feeling of dissatisfaction with yourself to spur 
you on to seek diligently for higher and better attain- 
ments. If you allow yourself to be discouraged, it will 
only hinder you. God will help you to obtain that which 
you need. Do not falter because your need seems great ; 
God's supply is more abundant than your need. Cast 
off every weight. Press forward. God will help you. 
When once he has aroused you to effort, you will find 
him ready to help. Your dissatisfaction is most en- 
couraging. Do not stay dissatisfied; press on till you 
obtain what you need. You will never attain your full 
measure of desire in this life, but you may obtain much, 
and what you do obtain will prepare you for that fulness 
and satisfaction which only eternity can bring you. 

Dissatisfaction is never welcome, but it is a true friend. 
Through it you may reach blessed attainments and soul- 
enriching grace. Value it and use it rightly, and it will 
prove a great blessing, though it may often be a blessing 
in disguise. 



26 HEART TALKS 



TALK THREE 

WHY I BELIEVE THE OLD BOOK 

Do I believe the old Book? Do I really believe it? 
My heart answers that I do. The deepest consciousness 
of my soul testifies that it is true. I will tell you some 
of the reasons why I believe it. 

The Oldest, and Still the Newest, of Books 

God's book written in the rocks is old, exceedingly 
old, but God's book the Bible reaches back still farther. 
It goes back not only to the "beginning" of this terres- 
trial world, but into eternity; for the expression, "in 
the beginning, ' ' used by John, reaches back long before 
this world was. "In the beginning was the Word, and 
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ' ' From 
past eternity its majestic sweep covers the whole range of 
being and reaches into the future eternity. It is, in 
fact, the book of eternity, and within its folds lie the 
grandeur and sublimity of the great unknown future. It 
never gets out-of-date. Other books have their run of 
popularity and are forgotten, but the Bible never grows 
old; no matter how familiar we become with it, it is 
ever new. To the Christian it never grows stale, but 
is always fresh and always satisfying. It ever reveals 
new depths that we fail to fathom, new heights that we 
can not scale, and new beauties that enrapture our vision. 

We read it over and over, and ever and anon we see 
new jewels sparkling within its pages, jewels that delight 



WHY I BELIEVE THE OLD BOOK 21 

the eye and reflect the light of God. Prom it refreshing 
waters break out where we least expect them, and our 
souls are refreshed like a thirsty man who suddenly 
finds water on the desert. We may have read a text a 
thousand times, yet when we look at it again it opens up 
and presents to us a vista of marvelous truth of which 
we were before entirely unconscious. What other book 
can do these things? When we read a book written by 
man, however interesting it may be, it soon loses its 
interest and its charm ; we do not find new beauties in it 
as we do in the Bible. Its treasures are soon exhausted, 
but the Bible is ever new, and so I do not believe that 
the Bible is man's book nor that it could be man's book. 
Its depths are too deep to come from the heart or mind 
of man; its heights are too great for him to reach; and 
its wisdom is more than human. It can but be divine. 

The Most Loved of All Books 

Wherever the Bible goes, people learn to love and to 
treasure it above all other books combined. It is the 
one book that people love ; it is the treasure that people 
hold fast even at the risk of their lives. In past ages 
when wicked rulers tried to keep it from the people, they 
could not. At the peril of their lives people would have 
it. They underwent dangers and tortures, and shrank 
not from anything, that they might possess this wonder- 
ful book. It is not for what it claims to be — though it 
claims much — nor for what men claim for it, but for what 
it is to the individual himself that it is so dearly loved. 
There is that in the Bible which endears itself to the 
human heart, and no other book has that quality. Other 



28 HEART TALKS 

books are enjoyed and admired and praised and valued; 
but the Bible, in this respect, stands in a class by itself. 

The educated and the ignorant, the high and the low, 
all races in all climes, when they learn to truly know the 
Bible, and when they submit themselves to the God of 
the Bible, learn to love it and to delight in it and are 
enriched and blessed by it; and because I too feel this 
deep love in my heart for the old Book, I believe it. I 
believe that, in some way, it was made for me by One 
who knew my needs, and that it corresponds to the very 
essence of my inner self ; and I believe that I could not 
love it as I do if it were not God's book and if it were 
not true. 

The Most Hated of All Books 

Not only is it the best-loved book, but it is also the 
most-hated book. No other book has had so many nor 
such bitter enemies. I suppose more books have been 
written against the Bible than against all other books 
combined. Men do not hate Shakespeare nor Milton 
nor Longfellow; they do not hate works on science nor 
philosophy ; they do not hate books of travel or adventure 
or fiction ; they do not hate the other sacred books of the 
world; they hate only the Bible. Why this hatred? 
It can be only because they find in the Bible something 
that they find nowhere else. What they find there is a 
true picture of themselves, and the picture is not pleasant 
to look upon, so they turn away their faces and will have 
nothing to do with it except to vilify and condemn it. 
They deliberately misrepresent it and write falsehoods 
about it; they satirize and ridicule it, using all sorts of 
weapons and all sorts of methods to combat it, and for 



WHY I BELIEVE THE OLD BOOK 29 

only the one reason — that its truth pricks them in their 
consciences and they can by no other means escape from 
it. 

It is judged by a standard far more stringent than 
any other book, not excepting the other sacred books. No 
critic would think of treating any other book as he treats 
the Bible, nor of requiring of any other book what he 
requires of the Bible. The more men hate God, the 
more they hate his Word; and this has a deep, under- 
lying reason, and that reason, I believe, is that the Bible 
is God's book and that in it there is so much of God 
himself. 

It Has Withstood All Assaults 

But though so bitterly assailed through all the ages, 
the Bible has withstood the assaults of all its enemies 
and stands victorious still. The Greek philosophers, with 
all their skill, were vanquished. The greatest intellects 
of modern times find themselves given pause before it. 
The sharpest arrows that unbelief could forge have not 
pierced it ; the assaults made upon it have resulted only 
in the destruction of the weapons used. All through the 
ages countless theories — religious, philosophic, scientific. 
or other — have been used against the Bible, only to fall 
in ruins at last before it and to be rejected even by those 
who once advocated them. The Bible endures an amount 
of criticism that no other book could endure, and instead 
of being destroyed, it is only brightened and made better 
known. Could such a thing be truly said of error? 
Could error endure what the Bible has endured, and 
live? It is the law of nature that error is self-destruc- 
tive, but that truth can not be destroyed ; and according 



30 HEART TALKS 

to this law, the Bible must be true because of its inde- 
structibility. 

It Tells Me of Myself 

My deepest emotions and longings, my highest thoughts 
and hopes, are mirrored there, and the more settled inner 
workings of conscience are there recorded. It speaks 
to me of my secret ambitions, of my dearest hopes, of my 
fears, of the love that burns within me. My desires are 
pictured in the Book just as I find them working in my 
heart. Whatever picture it draws of the human soul I 
find within myself, and whatever I find within myself 
I find within its pages, and thus I know that it is true 
No man can know me as the Bible knows me nor picture 
out my inner self as the Bible pictures me ; and since no 
work of man could correspond with my inner self as the 
Bible corresponds with me, I know that it did not come 
from man. 

It Is the Book of Conscience 

It is as a mirror into which every man, when he looks, 
sees himself. It speaks to his conscience, not as a man 
speaks, yet with a potency unknown to any other book. 
It is preeminently the book of the conscience. Other 
books appeal to men's consciences, but not with the ap- 
peal of this book. Other books mirror men, but not like 
the Bible. In the silent watches of the night, in the lone- 
ly depths of the forest, upon the expanse of the sea, or 
wherever man may be, how frequently is it the case that 
this book speaks into his conscience in a silent yet thun- 
dering voice, and before it he is awed and silenced and 
oftentimes terror-stricken. It speaks to the conscience 



WHY I BELIEVE THE OLD BOOK 31 

as only God can speak, and therefore it must be God's 
book. 

It Gives Comfort and Hope 

To what book do those in sorrow turn ? To Voltaire ? 
to Ingersoll? to Haeckel? Do they turn to science or 
philosophy or poetry or fiction? There is but one book 
that is the book of comfort. The sad and desolate heart 
turns to its pages, and as it reads, the consolation of 
the Holy Spirit, which fills the book, comes into that 
heart, and it is comforted. It is as the balm of Gilead ; 
it is as a letter from home to the wanderer; it is as a 
mother 's voice to the child. Friends may speak words to 
comfort us, but they can not comfort us as does the Book ; 
its words seem to enter into our innermost sorrows with 
a healing touch. God is the God of all comfort, and it 
is the comforting God in this comforting book that com- 
forts the soul. 

It is also the book of hope. Sometimes man despairs, 
and he looks here and there for hope, finding none ; but 
there is one book in which hope may always be found. 
It always has something to offer him to inspire hope with 
new courage. Therefore it is the hope of the hopeless: 
since in the troubled soul it brings a calm, brightening 
dull eyes and causing them to look beyond. It lifts up 
the bowed head, strengthens the feeble knees, renews the 
courage, and takes the sadness out of the voice; it is 
therefore truly the book of hope. 

The Book of the Dying 

A soldier, desperately wounded, lay in a trench. The 
shells were bursting around him; the bullets and shrap- 



32 HEART TALKS 

nel were whistling through the air ; the roar of the guns 
shook the ground. He was going down into the valley 
of the shadow of death. Knowing that he must pass 
over to the other side, he reached into his pocket with 
his little remaining strength and pulled therefrom a 
soldier's Testament. Handing it to a comrade he said, 
"Read to me." His comrade opened the book and began 
to read — "In my Father's house are many mansions: 
if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare 
a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for 
you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; 
that where I am, there ye may be also." A smile over- 
spread the face of the dying soldier as he listened to 
the words amid that solemn and terrible scene. He 
closed his eyes and lay quite still smiling, then he 
murmured, "It is well." And with a smile still upon 
his face he passed across to the other side. 

For what book do the dying call ! For just any book * 
What words do they wish to hear in the final hour? 
There is but one book for that hour; but one that can 
throw light into that shadowy valley. That is the Bible. 
It is the book of the living and of the dying, the book of 
the sorrowing and of the hopeless. It is just such a book 
as the loving Father would give to the children whom 
he loves, and it meets their need in all the details of 
their lives as only God could meet it, and therefore I 
can but believe that it is the book of God. 

Only Answer to the Enigma of Life 

The "why" of life is found nowhere else. Other books 
tell us many truths about life, yet its depths and mean- 



WHY I BELIEVE THE OLD BOOK 33 

ing find expression and answer in only one book. It 
interprets life; and he who reads the interpretation 
knows that it is true because it is the story of himself, 
and in himself is the witness of its truth. Men have 
sought everywhere the secret of life and the things that 
pertain thereto, but everywhere, save in the Bible, they 
find only darkness and obscurity and uncertainty. The 
Bible, however, speaks in no uncertain terms. It speaks 
the language of him who knows, and if we reject its 
voice we are left in a tangled maze, out of which we can 
not find our way. 

The Bible outlives all its critics and is triumphant 
when they are forgotten; it has many times been pro- 
nounced dead, but still it lives; it has been called "ex- 
ploded, ' ' but its power is not dissipated ; it has seen all 
antagonistic theories of the past, one by one, destroyed 
and rejected, but it still stands in spite of the critics, in 
spite of its enemies; and those who anchor their faith 
upon it need not fear what voice is raised against it. 
Neither need they fear what weapons are brought to bear 
upon it; for it is truth, and those who fight against it 
fight against God and are themselves ruined. 

It is adapted to all people of every race and clime, to 
the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the learned 
and the ignorant. Of no other book can this be said. 
It is the Book of books, the book of God. In it God 
speaks, and my inmost heart knows that it is the voice of 
my Beloved, and leaps for joy. 



34 HEART TALKS 

TALK FOUR 
HE MAKETH ME TO LIE DOWN 

The Psalmist says of the Lord, his Shepherd, "He 
maketh me to lie down in green pastures," or, as the 
Hebrew has it, "in pastures of tender grass." What a 
world of significance there is in this little sentence: 
"The Lord is my shepherd." 

1 ' He maketh me to lie down. ' ' He doth not compel me. 
That is not the Lord's method; he findeth a better way. 
If he compelled me to lie down, there would be no 
pleasure in it. When a sheep is compelled to lie down, 
it is in fear ; it can not but dread what is to happen to it. 
So the Lord doth not compel me. He leadeth me in the 
pastures of tender grass, and I eat until I am satisfied, 
and being satisfied with the sweet and luscious pasturage, 
I lie down, content. While the sheep is hungry, it will 
not lie down in the pasture ; it desireth to eat. But when 
it hath eaten its fill, it lieth down and resteth and is 
satisfied. So he feedeth my soul day by day; the good 
things of his kingdom doth he give unto me. He satis- 
fieth my soul with fatness. My soul desireth nothing 
more than what he giveth. If I hunger, he hath a 
supply, and he giveth me, and that with a generous 
hand. He knoweth all my needs. He supplieth every 
one, that I may be ' ' fat and flourishing, to show that the 
Lord is upright." 

There are many enemies about, but "he maketh me to 
lie down." I am in quietness. My heart is not afraid. 
The Shepherd standeth between me and those ravening 



HE MAKETH ME TO LIE DOWN 35 

wolves. The lion and the bear can not harm me, for 
the Shepherd standeth as my protector. His eye shall 
watch while I lie down. His ear shall hearken and shall 
hear the sound of their footsteps if they come near. 
I trust the Shepherd; therefore my heart is not afraid; 
and I shall lie down safely. It is trust that enableth 
me to lie down. If I were afraid, I could not thus rest. 
I should be watching and fearing and trembling. Every 
noise would alarm me. I should forget about the green 
pastures. I should forget the tender grass. But he is 
watching. He hath his weapon in his hand. He doth 
not fear my enemies, and while he is watching I do not 
fear them, for he is strong and mighty. He is greater 
than my foes. They know it and are afraid. They 
tremble at his voice. They flee away, but I lie safely. 
He hath said, "I will feed them in a good pasture, and 
upon the high mountains of Israel : ... in a fat pasture 
shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel." 

"He leadeth me beside the still waters." When I 
grow thirsty, the river lieth at the foot of the mountain, 
and down the slope he will lead me, and there in the 
shade, in the quiet, restful coolness, I shall drink of the 
waters of quietness and shall be satisfied, and my soul 
shall delight in him. The path down which he leadeth me 
may be steep; there may be thorns along the way; but 
so long as I permit him to lead me where he will, he 
will lead me safely. I must not choose my own way. I 
must not run ahead of him. I must not leave the path. 
I must follow close to him. I must listen to his voice, 
and then he will lead me to the still waters, and there 
I shall rest in his love. Then as the evening falleth, he 



36 HEART TALKS 

will lead me to his fold, and inside its walls of security 
I shall rest during the hours of the night. I shall not 
fear the darkness, for the Shepherd is watching. I shall 
not fear the wild beasts round about, for they can not 
harm me. He will watch over me and bear me up when 
I am weak. I can rest secure. My shepherd is the Good 
Shepherd. He loveth his sheep. They are a pleasure to 
him. 

Though he sometimes may needs lead by a rugged 
way, yet I am safe, for he careth for me. He will lead 
me in the way that I should go. He will enrich my soul 
with his goodness. Yea, "goodness and mercy shall 
follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in 
the house of the Lord forever. ' ' 



BLIGHTED BLOSSOMS 37 

TALK FIVE 
BLIGHTED BLOSSOMS 

In our yard, a few feet from the door, stands an apple- 
tree. In the early spring I watched its swelling buds 
from day to day. Soon they burst forth into snowy 
blossoms, beautifying the tree, and filling the air with 
their fragrance. There was the promise of a bountiful 
crop of fruit. In a few days the petals had fallen like 
a belated snow. As the leaves unfolded and grew larger, 
there appeared here and there a little apple that gave 
promise of maturing into full-ripened fruit. But, alas! 
how few apples there were compared with the number of 
blossoms with which the boughs had been laden! Most 
of the blossoms had been blighted, and had fallen to the 
ground leaving nothing behind. 

"Ah," thought I, "how like these blighted blossoms 
are so many of the desires and hopes and plans of our 
lives ! How many of our aspirations are never realized ! 
How many of our plans fail ! How scanty the perfectly 
matured fruit in our lives, when compared with the blos- 
soms!" When we consider this, how barren our lives 
often seem! How little we seem to accomplish! How 
little our lives seem to amount to! 

Every truly saved heart longs to serve. The redeemed 
heart loves, and love finds its joy in service. How much 
there is to be done all around us! and how eagerly we 
would take up the task of doing it ! How much we want 
to accomplish for the Lord! but ah, how little we do 
really accomplish! How many blossoms of desire we 



38 HEART TALKS 

possess! but how little fruit of real accomplishment! 
Seeing this, we sometimes become discouraged. It does 
not seem worth while to try to do the few little things 
that we actually can do. Do the best we can, so many 
of our blossoms will be blighted — so many of our plans 
will fail; so many of our hopes will not be realized; so 
many of our desires will not be fulfilled. We can re- 
joice in those that are brought to fruitage; we can re- 
joice in those that do mature; but how about the blos- 
soms that fall and seem to leave nothing behind them? 
Do they bud in vain? Do they serve no good purpose 
in our lives? They are not in vain. The blossoms on 
that apple-tree which were blighted, and died, were just 
as beautiful and just as fragrant as those which bore 
fruit. They served a very real purpose, and so do the 
hopes and purposes that we cherish in our hearts, even 
though we never see their fruitage. 

David was a man who loved the Lord, and out of 
that love came a desire to build the Lord a house. That 
desire was never realized by David. Making it a reality 
was left to others. Nevertheless, David's purpose was 
pleasing to the Lord. In his prayer at the dedication of 
the temple, Solomon said : ' ' And it was in the heart of 
David my father toj build an house for the name of the 
Lord God of Israel. And the Lord said unto David my 
father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house 
unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart " 
(1 Kings 8 : 17, 18). God did not despise the desire, even 
though he did not permit David to carry it out. As 
God was well-pleased with the desire of David to build 
him a house, so he is well-pleased with those worthy 



BLIGHTED BLOSSOMS 39 

desires and purposes of our hearts that are never carried 
out. Whether it be circumstances or surroundings that 
hinder us, whether it be a lack of wisdom or of ability, 
whether it be the pressure of other duties, or even if 
God gives the task to some one else, there is, nevertheless, 
beauty and fragrance in the desire that is in our heart 
to do him service. 

We must not become discouraged and give up hoping 
and desiring and planning to do something for the Lord, 
even though so many of our plans fail and our hopes be- 
come blighted. We know that it is the sap flowing up- 
ward through the tree that produces the beautiful fra- 
grant blossoms. Likewise God knows that it is the love 
in our hearts that produces the desire for service; and 
that love is precious in his sight. Do you sometimes feel 
that there is so little, oh, so little! that you can do for 
the Lord ? Does your life seem to count so little for his 
kingdom? and do you long to be more useful? That 
very longing is as the odor of sweet incense before the 
Lord. If you are prevented from doing the tilings that 
you would gladly do, if circumstances shut you in like 
a hedge, if you seem weak when you would be strong, 
you can still do something. The more of these blossoms 
of desire you have, even if they never reach fruition, 
the more your life is beautified, and the more the Lord 
is pleased. These unfulfilled desires work to ennoble 
our character and to enrich us, provided we do not 
spend our time mourning and lamenting because we 
can not put them into action. 

There is, however, one danger which we must be care- 
ful to shun. Sometimes people have their hearts so set 



40 HEART TALKS 

on doing some great thing that they miss the little things, 
the little opportunities that lie close to their hands. Life 
is made up of a round of little things. The great things 
only happen at rare intervals. But it is being faithful in 
the little things that makes us ready for our opportuni- 
ties for the great things when they come. Christ said 
"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful 
also in much." The little things are not spectacular, 
they do not attract much attention, but they are the 
things that make up life ; and if we are true in these little 
things, God will trust us with some greater things by 
and by. It is not wrong to yearn to do more ; but that 
longing works evil if , in our reaching forward to greater 
opportunities, we neglect what opportunities we have. 
It is the fruits we are able to produce, not their blossoms, 
that count at the harvest. 

Let us, therefore, strive to do all that we can; and if 
we can not do all that we would, let us remember that 
the blossoms that are blasted are not in vain. They 
serve their purpose. They are well worth while; and 
if we go resolutely and stedfastly on, we shall at last 
hear the Master 's voice say to us, "It is good that it was 
in thine heart. " How sweet these words will sound in 
our ears! How they will soothe our feelings of dis- 
appointment at not having done more ! Let us press on, 
therefore, and not be discouraged because we do not see 
our hopes and plans realized in this world. Let us be 
strong and of good courage, knowing that G-od knows all 
about it. Let us thank him for such privileges as we 
have, and make the best of our opportunities. 



MEETING THE LIONS 41 

TALK SIX 
MEETING THE LIONS 

The Bible recounts some interesting stories of lions. 
They are interesting, not simply because they are stories 
of animals, but because there are things in connection 
with them from which we may draw some very striking 
lessons. We all remember the story of Daniel — how he 
was cast into the den of lions, and how during the long 
watches of the night he sat there in their den unharmed. 
What was expected to be the tragedy of his life proved to 
be his most glorious victory. The expected triumph of 
his enemies was turned into their utter defeat, and 
Daniel, stronger and more courageous than ever, came 
forth to continue his service to God. 

Samson too had an experience with a lion. As he was 
going along the road one day he met a lion, and it 
attacked him. He had no weapons, yet he met it cour- 
ageously. We are told that "the Spirit of the Lord 
came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would 
have rent a kid." Some time later he was passing 
that way and found that a swarm of bees had entered the 
dried carcass of the lion and made their abode there, and 
he took of the honey and went on his way. 

In the thirteenth chapter of 1 Kings we find another 
lion story. Here a prophet sent of God went to Samaria 
and prophesied as God had commanded him, and accord- 
ing to the commandment he started back on his way to 
Judea. God had told him not to eat or drink there, but 
to go back immediately by a different way from that by 



42 HEART TALKS 

which he came. He started to obey, but sat down to 
rest by the wayside. While he was here, another prophet 
came and persuaded him to go back and dine with him. 
Then, as he went upon his way, a lion met him and 
slew him. 

The lions of these stories may be likened to our trials. 
We meet trials every now and then in life, and some of 
them seem very much like lions. They seem very threat- 
ening and very dangerous. Sometimes we try to run 
away from a trial, but as surely as we do, we meet an- 
other in the pathway in which we go. We are certain to 
have trials. The important thing is that we meet them 
properly. Some people imagine that if they live as they 
should they ought not to have trials. But trials often 
come when it is no fault of ours. Daniel was not thrown 
into the lions' den because he had not lived right or be- 
cause he had been unfaithful in something. No; it 
was his faithfulness that resulted in his meeting the 
lions. It will be that way in our lives. If we are 
true and loyal to God, that very loyalty is sure to bring 
us trials sometimes. Daniel had his choice in the matter. 
He could have been disloyal and escaped the lions, but 
he chose rather to be loyal and take the full consequences, 
whatever they might be. God wants you and me to dare 
to be Daniels too. He does not want us to swerve an inch 
from the truth in order to evade any sort of trial. If 
we are true, and as a result of that trueness a great trial 
like being thrown into a den of lions comes upon us, and 
every earthly hope seems shut off, and there is no help 
from anywhere, what shall we do? Despair? Ah, no. 
God will send his angel and shut the lion's mouth for us, 



MEETING THE LIONS 43 

just as he did for Daniel. Dare to be true. God will 
stand by you even in the most trying and desperate hour. 

It was not a test of his standing true that brought 
Samson face to face with the lion. He met the beast just 
by accident. He got into the trouble unwittingly. He 
had no expectation of it whatever, but the first thing he 
knew, he was face to face with it. That is just the way 
it happens with us sometimes : we get into a trial without 
any seeming reason for it ; we are not expecting anything 
of the kind. 

If the prophet in Samaria had gone in the way that 
God commanded him, he would not have met the lion 
that slew him. It was his disobedience that caused the 
trouble. Sometimes when we are in trials, we realize 
that it is our own fault that we are tried. Sometimes we 
may be disobedient, sometimes we may be careless, some- 
times it may be this or that ; but whatever it is, we real- 
ize that it is our own fault. That makes the trial harder 
to bear. But however trials come, whatever is their 
cause, we must meet them. We have no choice in the 
matter. The important thing is to meet them right. 
Daniel knew that he had done right and pleased God; 
and, furthermore, he met his trial with a calm peace and 
full assurance that God would take care of him, and God 
did take care of him, and he came through the trial 
He was peaceful through the trial and triumphant after 
it, because God was his helper. 

Some one has said that our trials make or mar us. 
This is true. Either we come out of them stronger than 
we went in or we come out of them weaker. We have 
either joy or sorrow from them. We should meet our 



44 HEART TALKS 

trials as Samson met the lion. Pace them boldly. Do not 
run or shrink. If you seem to have no adequate weapon 
to use against them, trust in God and meet them boldly 
anyway. That is the way Samson did, and do you re 
member what happened? Why, after a while he got 
honey out of the carcass. Do you want honey out of your 
trials? You would rather have that than bitterness. 
"Well, you may have the honey if you will face the trial 
and overcome it. Conquer in the name of Christ. Do 
not whimper or whine; do not lament or murmur; do 
not fear or tremble. Face your trials boldly, and the 
Spirit of the Lord will come mightily upon you as it did 
upon Samson, and you will conquer. And then, ah, it 
is then that the sweetness will come: after you have 
mastered the trial, in the days that follow, sweetness will 
come, and you will bless God that he ever permitted you 
to be so severely tried. 

Conflict must always precede victory. The lion must 
be killed before the bees can build the honeycomb in the 
carcass. So face your trials boldly and kill them. Then 
you may taste the sweets of victory. This is the only 
way, and you are not too weak to take this way. God has 
promised that he will not suffer you to be tempted above 
what you are able to bear. If you will believe it and do 
your part, God will do his, and you will triumph. 



EGG-SHELL CHRISTIANS 45 

TALK SEVEN 
EGG-SHELL CHRISTIANS 

You have sometimes heard it said of people that "they 
have to be handled like eggs"; eggs must be handled 
carefully, or you are likely to break them. Some people 
are super-sensitive : you have to be very careful what you 
do or say, or they will be hurt or offended ; you can never 
be sure how they are going to take anything. Such 
people are much of the time suffering from wounded feel- 
ings, are displeased and offended. It is true that some 
are of a highly nervous temperament and naturally feel 
things more keenly than others, but it is not this natural 
nervous sensitiveness that leads to the results above men 
tioned, it is a morbid and unnatural state into which 
people allow themselves to enter. The natural feelings 
may need restraint and careful cultivation, but these 
morbid feelings need to be got rid of. 

Sometimes people can bear to hear others ridiculed or 
talked about in a gossiping way, or see them slighted, 
and think nothing of it or even be amused ; but when they 
themselves become the target for such things, it almost 
kills them, or at least they feel almost killed. What 
makes this great difference in their feelings? Why do 
they feel for themselves so much more than they do for 
others? Trace the feeling back to its origin, and you 
will find that their self-love is the thing that has been 
hurt. If they loved others as they love themselves, they 
would feel just as much hurt by that which was directed 
against the other as by that which was directed at them- 



46 HEART TALKS 

selves. It is self-love that makes people easily offended 
and easily wounded; and the more self-love they have, 
the easier they are hurt and the quicker their resentment 
is aroused. Self-love begets vanity ; it quivers in keenest 
anguish at a sneer or a scornful smile ; it is distressed by 
even a fancied slight. Self-love throws the nerves of 
sensation all out to the surface and makes them hyper- 
sensitive, and so the person feels everything keenly. He 
is constantly smarting under a sense of injustice. He 
feels he is constantly being mistreated. 

Oh, this self-love! How many pains it brings! how 
many slights it sees! how often it is offended! Reader 
are you a victim of self-love? If you are so sensitive, al- 
ways being wounded and offended, self-love is what is 
the trouble. If you will get rid of this self-love., you will 
be rid of that morbid sensitiveness; that is, you will get 
rid of that morbid sensitiveness that makes people have 
to be so careful with you. 

Self-love makes a person wonder what others are 
thinking and saying about him. It makes him suspicious 
of others, suspicious that they are saying or thinking 
things that would hurt his feelings if known. If two 
others talk in his presence and he can not hear what is 
said, he is afraid lest the talk is about him or he is 
hurt because he is not taken into the confidence of the 
others. If others are invited to take part in something 
while he is omitted, he feels slighted and hurt, and can 
hardly get over it. I have often heard people make re- 
marks like this: "We shall have to invite So-and-so, or 
he will feel hurt." Self-love is a tender plant; it is 
easily injured. We may make all sorts of excuses for 



EGG-SHELL CHRISTIANS 47 

such sensitiveness ; but if we will clear away these excuses 
and dig down to the root of the trouble, we shall find that 
God has it labeled "self-love." 

Another thing that increases sensitiveness is holding 
a wrong mental attitude toward others. This attitude 
manifests itself in a lack of confidence in the good intent 
of others. If we are looking for and expecting slights ; 
ridicule, and like things, it means we take it for granted 
that others are holding a wrong attitude toward us. We 
do not really believe that they love us and have kindly 
feelings toward us, or that they will be just and kind 
and sympathetic in their actions that affect us or relate 
to us. Have you not seen children who, when one would 
hurt another and say, ' ' Oh, I did not mean to do it ! " 
the other would retort, "Yes, you did; you just did it on 
purpose"? There are many older persons who are al- 
ways ready to say, "It was just done on purpose; they 
just meant to hurt my feelings ! ' ' This is childish, but 
alas, how many professed Christians hold such an atti- 
tude! This is a sure way to destroy fellowship and to 
take the sweetness out of the association with God's 
people. It is unjust to our brethren. It is the foe of 
unity and spirituality. Were it not for self-love, we 
would not think of attributing to others an attitude 
different from that which we feel that we ourselves hold 
toward them. 

This self-love crops out in all our relations. It con- 
stantly exaJts us and as constantly depreciates our breth- 
ren. God's saints are animated with a spirit of kindness 
and brotherly affection for each other, and this does not 
manifest itself jn wounds and slights, and if we are 



48 HEAKT TALKS 

looking for such manifestations it is because we do not 
believe that they have Christlike feelings toward us. 
God wants us to have more confidence in our brethren 
than to be looking for them to misuse us. 

If we are looking for slights, we shall see plenty of 
them — even where none exist. If we are expecting 
wounds, we shall receive them even when no one intends 
to w r ound us. Self-love has a great imagination. It 
can see a great many evils where none exist. It is like a 
petulant and spoiled child. I remember one child of 
whom it was said, ' ' If you just crook your finger at him, 
he will cry." Thinking that this was an exaggeration, 
I tried it, and the boy cried. There are some people six 
feet tall who are hurt just that easily. They are truly 
"lovers of their own selves." Paul said, "When I be- 
came a man, I put away childish things." It is high 
time others were doing the same thing. Suppose Christ 
had been as sensitive as you are, would he have saved 
the world? If Paul had been like you, would he have 
endured the persecution and dangers and tribulations 
and misrepresentations that he bore to carry the gospel 
to the world ? He was not so sensitive. He was not look- 
ing for slights. He w r as a real, full-sized man for God. 
The secret is that he loved Christ and others more than 
he loved himself; therefore he could endure all things for 
his brethren's sake, that they might be saved. 

The cure for self-love and the sensitiveness that comes 
from it is to turn your eyes away from self to Jesus 
Christ, and look upon him until you see how little and 
insignificant you and your interests really are. Look 
upon him until you see how high above all such narrow 



EGG-SHELL CHRISTIANS 49 

pettishness he was, until you see that his great heart was 
so overrunning with love for others that he had no 
time to think of himself. Then ask him to revolutionize 
you and fill your heart with that same love till your eyes 
and your thoughts and your interests are no longer 
centered upon yourself, and self no longer fills your 
horizon, but your heart goes out to others till it quite 
draws you away from yourself. You will find this the 
cure for your sensitiveness ; and when you are thus cured, 
you will no longer be an egg-shell Christian, and people 
will no longer have to be afraid of wounding or offending 
you. 



50 HEART TALKS 



TALK EIGHT 
TWO WAYS OF SEEING 

The appearance that things have to us depends, to a 
great extent, upon the way that we look at them. Some- 
times our mental attitude toward them is largely respon 
sible for their appearance. Often two or more persons 
look at the same thing, and each one sees something quite 
different from what the others see. Persons who see the 
same thing will often have very different stories to tell 
about it afterwards, and will be very differently affected 
by what they see. This is not because their eyes differ 
so much, but because their mental attitude affects the 
interpretation of what they see. 

A notable example of this is seen in the twelve spies 
sent by Moses to spy out the land of Canaan. The 
Israelites had crossed the Red Sea. Their enemies had 
been destroyed behind them. They had come at God's 
command almost to the borders of the Promised Land. 
Here the people camped while the spies went to see the 
country. They passed through it and viewed the land 
and the people, and presently came back with their re- 
port. It was a wonderful land, they agreed, a land 
flowing with milk and honey. The samples of the fruit 
they brought back were large and fine specimens. Of 
course, the people were at once very eager to possess 
such a land, but the question came up, Are we able to do 
so? What kind of people are they over there? Are 
they good fighters ? Are they courageous? Do they have 



TWO WAYS OF SEEING 51 

strongly fortified cities? As soon as this question was 
broached, there was a difference of opinion. Caleb said, 
"Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well 
able to overcome it" (Num. 13:30). The others, how- 
ever, did not agree with him, except Joshua. They said, 
"We be not able to go up against the people; for they 
are stronger than we . . . and all the people that we 
saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw 
the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants : 
and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so 
we were in their sight" (vs. 31-33). 

Now, what made the difference in their views? They 
all saw the same things; they all saw the same people; 
but when it came to telling of them, they told very dif- 
ferent stories. The difference must have lain in the men 
themselves. When the ten saw those sons of Anak, they 
felt that they were as grasshoppers in comparison with 
such giants. "Why, we amount to nothing at all," the 
ten spies thought. ' ' Those great big fellows could walk 
right over us. ' ' And when they recalled their sensations, 
the land did not seem so fine, either, and they said, "It 
is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof. ' ' They 
did not stop to consider that their own words condemned 
them. How could a land be such a bad land and yet 
the people who lived in it be so strong and so great? 

Joshua and Caleb, however, were not to be frightened 
by the stories that the others told. So they said, "The 
land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceed- 
ing good land" (chap. 14: 7). They also held fast their 
confidence in the ability of Israel to gain the land saying, 
"If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this 



52 HEART TALKS 

land, and give it us ; a land which floweth with milk and 
honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear 
ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: 
their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with 
us; fear them not" (vs. 8,9). 

Now, all these men were probably honest. They prob- 
ably described things just as these appeared to them. 
What was the difference? The difference was not in 
their eyes, but in that which was back of their eyes. 
When the ten went through the land and saw the giants, 
they forgot all about G-od. It was themselves against 
the giants, with God left out: and when we leave God 
out, things look very different. How big those giants 
looked! "We poor grasshoppers had better be getting 
out of here quickly. We do not stand any show at all. ' ' 
they thought. "How could Israel fight with such fel- 
lows, anyway?" The ten were full of doubts, and they 
looked through their doubts, and their doubts magnified 
the Anakim. 

But Caleb and Joshua had no doubts. They had faith 
in God — faith that did not waver. They remembered 
the Red Sea. They remembered the manna from heaven. 
They remembered the other things that God had done 
They looked at the situation through their faith; and 
instead of feeling as if they were grasshoppers, they felt 
themselves more than a match for the giants. The two 
were not at all frightened. "Why/' they said, in effect, 
when they came back, "they will be only bread for us. 
We shall just eat them up. They have heard what God 
has done among us, and they are too scared to fight. 
Their defense is departed from them." Then these men 



TWO WAYS OF SEEING 53 

of faith began talking about the other side. "The Lord 
is with us; fear them not What do those fellows amount 
to, since God is not with them ? What do their fortresses 
amount to ? Let us go up at once, 7 ' said they. ' * Why, 
we can whip them with ease." 

But the people listened to both sides, and their ears 
heard; but instead of listening through their faith to 
Joshua and Caleb, they listened through their doubts to 
the ten and believed them and became very much fright- 
ened ; and in consequence they went to murmuring and 
complaining because Moses had brought them out there 
to face such a situation. The result was that they were 
turned back, defeated by their enemies, and had to 
wander forty years in the wilderness until all the old ones 
perished. 

Now, that is just the difference between faith and 
doubts. Looking back from the present time, we can 
easily believe that God would have conquered the land 
before them. Yes, we can believe that. We can see how 
foolish it was for them to turn back and to be afraid and 
to murmur. That all looks very plain to us now. We 
say, ' ' How foolish and how full of unbelief they were ! ' ' 
But the question is, Are we doing any better than they 
did ? When we look at the obstacles in our way, when we 
look at the troubles that seem to be coming, when we look 
at the things that are before us, do we look through 
faith, like Caleb and Joshua, or do we look through 
doubts, like the ten ? Do your trials and difficulties make 
you feel like a grasshopper? Does it seem that you 
would surely be overwhelmed? Does it look as though 
you could never get through, that you might as well give 



54 HEART TALKS 

up? If so, you are looking at things through your 
doubts just as the ten did. 

The people who win, the people who are victorious, 
are those who look at things through their faith. They 
do not compare their troubles and trials and difficulties 
with themselves; they compare these with God. They 
behold God's greatness. They behold the things that he 
has done in the past. They see how he has helped 
others. They see that they have been helped in the 
past, that God has stood right by them and helped 
them through. They get their faith and their eyes 
working together, and then they can see a way out 
of their difficulties, just as Caleb did. "They shall be 
bread for us, " faith says. "No use to be afraid. Giants 
don't count. What is a giant beside God?" Doubts 
say, "Oh, what shall we do?" Faith takes a new grip 
on its sword and says, "Come on; let's go and conquer 
them." 

Tour eyes are all right ; they will see things all right , 
but the question is, What is behind your eyes — doubts, 
or faith? That is the thing that really counts. Doubts 
will magnify your troubles, will make them look very 
great. Doubts will make your power look very small. 
They will make your ability to fight look as nothing 
They will make you feel like running or surrendering. 
Faith will not work that way. It will fill you with cour- 
age ; it will put the song of victory in your heart. Get 
faith behind your eyes. Look out by faith. Remember 
that God will fight your battles. Be strong and of a good 
courage, and you will overcome your foes. But doubts 
will spoil things for you. Doubts will take away what 



TWO WAYS OF SEEING 55 

courage you have. Doubts will ruin you if you let 
them. So get rid of your doubts. Look to God, believe 
in him, trust in him, and the victory will be yours 
Take your stand with Caleb and Joshua. Do you remem- 
ber what became of the spies ? The ten doubters died in 
the wilderness, and their bodies were left there; but 
the two who had faith went on into the Promised Land 
and died full of years and of honors. 



56 HEART TALKS 

TALK NINE 
THE LIVING BIBLE 

The Bible is a living book. What it is to us depends 
on what we are to it. If we approach it with unbelief 
and sneers, it shudders like a wounded thing and closes 
up its heart, and we gaze only on a cold and gross ex- 
terior. We behold the form of its words, but discern not 
the treasures hidden in them. It appears cold and life 
less and repellent, and we go away depressed and unbe- 
lieving. 

If we approach it reverently, trustfully, and con- 
fidently, it opens up to us its hidden depths. It 
shows to us its wonders. We may see in it unequaled 
beauties, unfading glories, magnificent vistas of thought : 
we may hear its voice of love, tender beyond words: 
we may feel the warmth of its affection, be uplifted 
by its hopefulness, and thrilled with the tones of its 
joy-bells. 

If we open to it our heart's door and pour out our 
treasures of affection, it in turn opens to us a great 
storehouse, and we may eat and be satisfied, and drink 
and thirst not. We may revel in its rich perfume, the 
rythmic cadences of its music, the splendor of its heaven- 
ly light, and to us there is no question whether it is the 
living truth. 

The Bible is to the Christian what the forest is to him 
who delights in nature. He who walks through the 
forest laughing, talking, and singing, hears not the sweet 
notes of the songster nor sees the wild things. He who 



THE LIVING BIBLE 57 

would see and hear the things that delight the nature- 
lover must steal softly and silently along, watching his 
footsteps, hiding in the shadows, and thus he may see 
nature as she is. Likewise he who comes to the Bible 
full of self-importance with mind and heart self-centered 
sees not the natural beauty of the Bible. We must come 
to it effacing self, seeking not our own but the things of 
Christ, and we shall find it a mine of spiritual gold, a 
fountain of living water, a balm for every sorrow, a 
light in every dark hour — the one and only book that 
meets and satisfies the needs of the human soul. 



r^ HEART TALKS 

TALK TEN 
HEEDING INTUITIONAL WARNINGS 

There are things which we know and feel but which 
do not result from our own study. We have a con- 
sciousness that there is some supreme power over us, and 
we are conscious of a certain responsibility to, and a 
dependence upon, this higher power. Reading the Bible 
and reasoning may give us clearer ideas of this power 
and our relations to it, but we have the consciousness 
of its existence without being taught. 

This is never more clearly seen than in the case of the 
man who denies the existence of a personal God. As 
surely as he rejects the God of the Bible, he sets up 
something else in His place, and though he may call it 
by some other name than God, he will, nevertheless, 
attribute to it the powers and actions that belong to God. 
These intuitions by which we know without being con- 
scious of how we know are given us by God for our pro- 
tection and safety, and we ought to give careful heed 
to their testimony. 

Sometimes our reason sees no harm in a thing, but 
we do not feel just right about it, A doctrine may look 
ever so plausible and be ever so interesting ; but if we feel 
an inward uneasiness after consideration of it, there is 
a reason why we should be careful. Our intuition will 
often detect something wrong when our reason has not 
yet done so. These intuitions are not to be disregarded. 
They are God's means of warning us against unseen dan- 
gers. 



HEEDING INTUITIONAL WARNINGS 59 

Sometimes when we come in contact with people, we 
see nothing outwardly wrong, but we have an inward 
feeling that all is not well. We feel that there is some- 
thing wrong somewhere, even though we may be at a 
loss to know what it is. Sometimes we come in contact 
with a company of people and at once feel a strange 
something that we can not analyze; but we can not al- 
ways trust our feelings. There are many things that 
influence us, and it is very easy to misinterpret them. 
Nor should we conclude that there is something very 
badly wrong with any one merely because we have pecu- 
liar feelings when in his presence. There may be some- 
thing wrong, however, and it behooves us to be on our 
guard. Sometimes it happens that such feelings arise 
when we are in the presence of people who are deeply 
tried, or discouraged, or suffering under the assaults of 
Satan. 

There are many evil spirits at work in these days 
among professors of religion, and especially is this true 
among the various holiness factions. Have you ever gone 
into a meeting and felt that some way you did not ' ' fit ' ' 
there? The worshipers may have seemed joyful and 
may have said many good things, but all the while you 
felt an inward uneasiness. There was some reason for 
this, and whether the reason was spiritual or merely 
human, it was wise to exercise carefulness. It is usually 
best to refrain from trying to make yourself blend with 
anything when you have that internal sense of protest 
against it. 

Fellowship is natural and spontaneous. It can not be 
forced. If you are straight and true and your heart is 



60 HEART TALKS 

open and unprejudiced, you will usually have fellowship 
with whatever is of God. Most sectarian holiness people 
are so broad that? they can take in almost anything and 
call it good. Beware of this spirit. God's Spirit accepts 
only the good. If you have ease and freedom with true, 
established, spiritual people of God, and are free in 
meetings where the whole truth is preached and the 
Spirit of God works freely, and then when you come in 
contact with other professors you fail to have that free- 
dom, do not accuse yourself nor try to force yourself 
to have fellowship with them. 

A preacher once came into a certain community and 
began to preach. He was quite enthusiastic; he praised 
the Lord and shouted. He preached much truth and 
professed to be out clean for God. It was afterwards 
discovered that he was very crooked and wholly unworthy 
of confidence. I asked a number of the congregation 
later how it came that they received him. Their answer 
was that, as he came recommended by some good breth 
ren and preached so much truth, when they did not feel 
right about him they came to the conclusion that they 
must be wrong and he right. So they accused themselves 
and went on through the meeting suffering under a heavy 
burden. They knew they had no such feelings when 
other ministers came into their midst, nor did they feel 
that way in their own ordinary meetings. But in spite 
of this, they took the wrong course, and the result was 
that the congregation received much harm both spirit 
ually and financially. The same thing happened with 
this preacher in other places, till at length he came to 
a place where some refused to ignore their feelings or to 



HEEDING INTUITIONAL WARNINGS 61 

accuse themselves of being in the wrong. Instead, they 
sent at once for two well-established ministers, and as 
soon as they came into the community, the crooked 
preacher fled and was seen no more in those parts. 

Sometimes some one will come around making a high 
profession, and while we can see nothing wrong, we do 
not feel free with him, or, in other words, we have a sense 
of uneasiness. We feel at home with other saints, but 
not so with this person. Beware. If you are in fellow- 
ship with those whom you know to be true saints, look 
out for those with whom you do not have inward har- 
mony. Do not blame yourself fior disregard the warning. 
Isolated Christians naturally become hungry for spir- 
itual association. Sometimes they go to meetings where, 
while they find some good things, they also see other 
things and feel things that grate upon their spiritual 
sense of propriety. In such cases one should be guarded 
and should not try to "fit" with these things. To blend 
with them you must become like them; and if you be 
come like them when they are not right, you will find that 
when you come into an assembly where the truth and 
Spirit have freedom, you will not blend there. If you 
ignore those inner warnings and accept something con- 
trary to them, you will soon find yourself out of harmony 
with God's; church and without the liberty you used to 
have among the children of God. 

Do not follow your intuitions blindly, but do not go 
contrary to them. Let your reason find out the way of 
action before you act, so that you may act wisely. But 
when that inward sense says to us, "Stop, look, listen," 
we shall do well to heed its warning. 



62 HEART TALKS 

TALK ELEVEN 

DOING SOMETHING WORTH WHILE 

We all like to feel that what we are doing counts for 
something, that it is really worth while. We like to see 
practical results. We know that much labor is lost in 
the world, and we do not want ours to be lost. The ordin- 
ary things of life seem to amount to so little. They are 
not spectacular; no one pays very much attention to 
them ; and we naturally feel that when we do something, 
we want it to be something that people can see and that 
they will think is worth while, and something that we 
ourselves can feel is worth while. Some think: "If I 
could just preach, I shouldn't mind working for the 
Lord. But, oh ! I can do so little — nothing worth while 
at all, nothing worth the effort. What can my feeble 
efforts accomplish, anyway?" 

Others think that if they could go to a foreign land 
and work among the heathen, draw people to Christ 
there, send back home great reports of what they have 
accomplished, have their names published in the paper, 
and have people talking about them, then that would be 
worth while. But since they are only ordinary people 
and can do only ordinary things, it seems to them 
that it hardly pays to try. They will just follow the 
line of least resistance and do things the easiest way. 
Of course they want to do what they can for God, but 
they want to do something really worth while. 

And now, reader, what is really worth while in life? 
Is it only those things that make a great show ? is it only 



DOING THINGS WORTH WHILE 63 

those things that the world counts great? A sister said 
to me recently in a letter, "I used to think that I could 
do nothing worth while, but I have found that just 
simply living salvation before people is a great work." 
Now, that sister has learned a wonderful lesson. She has 
found a truth so great that most people do not recognize 
it as truth when they do find it. It is one of those truths 
that have the peculiarity of seeming small and insig- 
nificant though they are the very fundamentals of truth. 

Just simply living salvation before people — yes, that 
is what counts, and it counts more than anything else. 
That is one of the very greatest things that an individual 
has ever done in this world. Talk is cheap, and many 
people can talk all day and say scarcely anything either. 
Some people can sway great crowds by their eloquence, 
they can accomplish wonderful things, but still they can 
not live salvation, or, at least, they do not. There is no 
power so great in this world as the simple power of a 
holy, quiet life. The sister mentioned can never hope to 
do great things as other people might count them. She is 
in frail health ; she is isolated from other saints and can 
not attend meetings as can many others; she has not 
the ability to preach or to do anything very great, as 
greatness is usually reckoned; but she has learned the 
great fact that she is not shut out from doing a grand 
work. 

If all God's people could learn this lesson — if they 
could learn that it really counts just simply to live right, 
just simply to be an ordinary every-day Christian; if 
they could once get that thoroughly fixed in their minds 
and hearts — it would glorify their lives, it would exalt 



64 HEART TALKS 

the common service, it would shed a halo over their lives, 
and they would not feel discouraged. 

When Moses was at Pharaoh's court, I suppose he 
thought that he was doing something really worth while. 
He amounted to something there. But when the Lord 
let him be driven, or rather frightened, away from that 
court and he went out into the wilderness, I suppose he 
thought his occupation there was hardly worth while 
Why, what was he doing, anyway ? Just taking care of 
the sheep, leading them out in the morning to the pas- 
ture, bringing them back to the fold at night, seven days 
in the week — just doing this and nothing more. I sup- 
pose it did not look very big to Moses, but it did to God. 
God thought it worth so much that he kept him at that 
work for forty years. Then Moses, at the age of eighty, 
when it looked as if he were about done with this world ; 
was called to go to do something for the Lord. That 
forty years in the wilderness counted now. It had given 
him experience that helped to qualify him for the work 
to which God had called him. He came out of there 
worth while because he had done something worth while 
in those years. He had learned about God — oh, so many 
things he had learned ! and now he was ready to put that 
knowledge into practise. 

Sometimes we have wilderness periods in our lives, 
when God lets us be shut up in a corner, as it were, and 
do the little things that do not seem to count. But they 
count on us if they do not count anywhere else. There 
is one thing — and just one — that stands out above all 
other things in the human life, and that is faithfulness. 
No matter what our life may be, nor where we may be, 



DOING THINGS WOETH WHILE 65 

nor what is our situation, if we are just faithful it is sure 
to count, and to count a great deal. That is one thing 
that you can do : you can be faithful to the Lord. You 
can do what he wants you to do. You can live pure, 
holy, undefiled, and keep shining every day, no matter 
what the circumstances may be. Just remember to keep 
shining. That is the thing that counts. Keep living 
clean and as God wants you to live. If you do this, 
he will know where he can find somebody who is faithful 
when he wants something else done. But ever keep this 
before you : there is no greater nor more necessary work 
in the world than putting the truth of God into visible 
form in a pure and quiet life. 



66 HEART TALKS 

TALK TWELVE 
HOME-MADE CLOUDS 

Louise stood looking out of the window with unseeing 
eyes. There was a troubled expression upon her face. 
There were tears in her eyes, and a lump in her throat. 
What was the trouble? An hour before she had been 
singing as blithely as a song-bird. Her morning devo- 
tions had been sweet. The presence of G-od had been 
with her. The day had started out full of sunshine, but 
alas ! now her sky was clouded. 

It had all happened in a moment. Her younger 
brother had been playing with his dog and had carelessly 
run against the stand upon which her flower-pots were 
sitting and had upset one of the choice plants, breaking 
the pot and ruining the flower. Louise saw the happen- 
ing. How careless it was of the boy ! Quickly a feeling 
of impatience arose, and before she realized what she 
was doing, she had spoken sharply to her brother and 
had said hasty words that she immediately regretted. 
Her conscience quickly reproved her. She felt bad over 
the loss of the flower, but she felt much worse over her 
hasty words. A dark, heavy cloud settled down upon 
her. The sunshine was all gone; there was no longer 
any song in her heart, but heaviness instead. 

Standing there by the window, she now meditated over 
it. Oh, if she had been more tender! If she had only 
exercised more self-control ! If she had kept back those 
hasty words ! It was quite true that Tom had been very 
careless. Still, she knew that be too loved the flowers. 



HOME-MADE CLOUDS 67 

He did not mean to destroy one. Louise loved Tom, and 
because of this she felt all the more deeply what she had 
done. He was gone now, she knew not where. She 
would be glad to apologize to him and beg his pardon 
if he were there. She decided that she would tell him as 
soon as he returned, and that gave her some satisfaction, 
but it did not take away the cloud. She thought of how 
bright the morning and how light and care-free her heart 
had been ! But now her day was clouded, and worst of 
all, she had made the cloud herself, by her own haste. 

That is often the way it is with us. We make so many 
of our own clouds in life. Clouds often come over our 
lives from the actions of others; sometimes they come 
through circumstances that can not be helped ; sometimes 
they come from Satan himself. Such clouds as these 
do not have the effect upon us that our home-made clouds 
do. The things that are hardest to bear are the* things 
that we feel we have brought upon ourselves. These get 
closer to us than anything else. They have a sting to 
them that nothing else has. Many times people do 
things that try us; but if we also do or say something 
hastily at that time, it will increase our trial and make it 
the more difficult to bear. It will make the clouds that 
come all the darker. If we have not been as kind as we 
ought to have been, if there has been a sharpness in our 
words, or if we have manifested our displeasure at some- 
thing in a way that showed our feelings too much, it is 
sure to bring a cloud over our day. 

The more tender our consciences, the more we shall 
feel these things and the more the tendency will be to 
cloud our days. It is true that we shall feel displeased 



68 HEART TALKS 

over things, and it i£j very natural to manifest our dis- 
pleasure in some way. Some people are very impulsive 
and speak before they stop to think what they are saying 
or what the result will be, and thus they are continually 
making clouds for themselves. There are times when 
we must resolutely take hold of ourselves when the feel- 
ing of displeasure comes, as it is sure to do. The will 
must grapple with these emotions quickly and not let 
them get into action. Our wills w T ere given us to rule 
ourselves with. When tempted to be unkind or to be 
hasty in our words and actions, we should say within 
ourselves : " I will not speak hasty words. I will control 
myself and keep sweet. I will be patient ; I will be kind. 
I will do as the Lord would have me to do." Then we 
should put these resolutions quickly into action. In- 
stead of the trial bringing a cloud over us, the fact that 
we have conquered ourselves and kept ourselves in the 
attitude that we should hold toward God and toward 
others will make the sunshine all the brighter. 

Conquer yourself; set a watch before your lips. If 
you are of an impulsive disposition, you may fail again 
and again, but do not be discouraged, keep up the fight. 
You will win in the end. You will reach at last the place 
where self-control acts automatically, where you will 
think in time. If you fail and the clouds come, endure 
them patiently, resolving to do better the next time. 
Do not let yourself be crushed under the circumstance. 
Do not let yourself be so discouraged that you think that 
there is no use in trying, that you never will overcome. 
Keep up the fight; you will yet come out conqueror. 

Sometimes people feel that God is leading them to do 



HOME-MADE CLOUDS 69 

a certain thing; they feel strongly impressed to do it. 
They see an opportunity ; then, perhaps through timidity 
or indecision, they let the opportunity pass by, and 
when it is gone they feel bad because they failed to 
improve it. How they regret not having done it! If 
they had another opportunity, they would not let it 
slip. But it has gone. In vain do they wish for it again. 
They have failed, and that failure brings a dark cloud 
over them. It is another home-made cloud. They can 
not blame any one else for it — not even Satan. But 
they do blame themselves, and sometimes to such an 
extent that it takes the joy and sweetness out of the day, 
and possibly out of several days. If we have done such 
things, it does no good to heap reproaches upon our- 
selves. That only makes our clouds darker. The way 
out is to open our hearts to God and tell him all about it, 
asking him to help us to be more courageous, more dili- 
gent to take advantage of our opportunities, and more 
faithful to follow his leadings. Let us resolve in our 
hearts that we will do this, then go cheerfully about it. 
Frivolous or foolish conversation or actions sometimes 
bring clouds over our sky. The Spirit reproves us and 
we see our fault. To chide and condemn ourselves does 
no good. The only profitable thing for us to do at such 
times is to be open-hearted and frank toward the Lord 
and tell him about it, to ask his help that we may do 
better the next time, and to determine in our hearts that 
we will do better. I do not mean that we should get 
into bondage. God wants us to be free, to live naturally, 
and not to live under a strain, but to exercise a proper 
degree of caution. 



70 HEART TALKS 

I suppose we all have regrets and come more or less 
short of our ideals at times, But if we are as careful 
and as true as we ought to be, we shall not have so many 
of these home-made clouds ; but if we do have them, let 
us bear up patiently. It will do no good to chastise 
ourselves. The only thing we can do that will be profit- 
able is to trust in the Lord, and go ahead until the dark- 
ness passes away and the sun shines again. Let us be 
true to God and hold fast our confidence and our deci- 
sion to serve him and be ready to confess our faults be- 
fore him. He will treat our faults as faults, not as sins. 
He will not cut us off for such things. He will have 
mercy upon us and will show his loving-kindness toward 
us. Let us therefore trust in him and make as few of 
these home-made clouds as possible. 



IT PLEASED THE LORD TO BRUISE HIM 71 

TALK THIRTEEN 
IT PLEASED THE LORD TO BRUISE HIM 

It is a mystery in the minds of many why Christian 
people often have to suffer. With all the promises of 
physical healing, they still are many times in pain, not- 
withstanding God's faithfulness and his omnipresence. 
They also suffer temptations, persecutions, and soul- 
conflicts. How can we explain these things? How can 
we harmonize these with the teachings of a loving God? 
When we read Paul's experience, we find it largely a 
record of privation and suffering, of sorrow and heavi- 
ness. It is true that in^ it all there is a note of joy and 
an unquenchable shout of victory, but nevertheless soul, 
mind, and body often had to endure the lash of pain. 
Did God love him? Why, then, must such things be? 

God loved Christ with a perfect love, but we read that 
"although he had done no violence, neither was any 
deceit in his mouth, yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise 
him ; he hath put him to grief " (Isa. 53 : 9, 10, A. S. V.) . 
What strange language! He had done no evil, he was 
guilty of nothing, and yet "it pleased the Lord to 
bruise him." Is it true that love is tender, the tender- 
est of all things, and yet can bruise and find pleasure 
in it ? But this is just what happened. Jesus, the inno- 
cent Lamb of God, was "smitten, stricken of God." 
When we remember Gethsemane, the crown of thorns, 
the cruel cross, it does not seem an act of love for God 
to give his Son over to such suffering; yet it was love, 
truest love. Why did God thus deal with him? It was 



72 HEAET TALKS 

not because the Father-heart did not feel that agony. 
It was the only means to an end, and love desired that 
end so much that it pleased it to make the gTeat sacrifice 
that out of it might come the infinite joy of a world's 
redemption. 

There is nothing that brings Christ so close to men as 
his sufferings; there is nothing that makes men trust 
in him so much as the story of those last days. If that 
story were taken from the pages of the Bible, what would 
Christ be to us? Only a great teacher whose morality 
was high and wonderful, though to us unattainable ; but 
with this record added, he becomes a Savior and makes 
his righteousness attainable by us all. Had he not suf- 
fered, he could not have brought us to God. How much 
poorer we should be today without the story of Geth 
semane and Calvary, without knowing that "it pleased 
the Lord to bruise hini" and that out of his sighs and 
tears and groans has flowed into our hearts a fountain 
of joy and love and tenderness whereby we have been 
enriched and the angels of God have been caused to sing 
a song for joy ! 

If God was pleased to bruise his own beloved Son, 
need we marvel if he is sometimes pleased to bruise us? 
If Ave are sometimes bowed down with grief, if anguish 
takes hold upon us, if the sky grows dark above us, and 
if God seems to have turned away, is it any proof that 
he no longer loves us? Is it not only the proof that 
God sees something to be accomplished that can be 
accomplished in no other way, and that he is pleased for 
the sake of that gain to let us suffer? The things that 
are worth while come through pain. Joy does not make 



IT PLEASED THE LORD TO BRUISE HIM 73 

us stronger nor bring us nearer God ; nor does it refine, 
ennoble, or enrich us. The pure gold comes from the 
fire only and the tempered steel also must have passed 
through the flame. God would have us pure as gold and 
as strong as steel, and to have us so he can not spare 
the flame. We must pass through the furnace of afflic- 
tion. We are told that God "doth not afflict willingly 
nor grieve the children of men" (Lam. 3:33). It is 
only that something may come out of it that will be better 
and more blessed than could have been without it. 

We know in reality only what we know by experience. 
Those who would be instruments in God's hands to help 
others must often have a preparatory training-course in 
the school of suffering; how else could they know how 
to help others? Brother, sister, has God called you to 
do a work for him? If so you need not marvel if he 
lets the rod of pain be laid upon you. If you have hin- 
drances which seem to shut up the way before you, if 
you have trials that you can not understand, if you have 
disappointments and perplexities, if you have spiritual 
conflicts that threaten to overwhelm you, do not think 
it strange. How can you teach others how to bear such 
things if you have not borne them ? How can you know 
the way out for others if you have never gone that way ? 
How can you teach others to look for the blessings in 
these things if you have not their fruitage in your own 
life ? Those who have suffered most can enter most into 
the sufferings of others. 

The successful worker will find that the strength and 
wisdom that bring him success was the gift of pain, and 
had not pain brought him strength and knowledge, sue- 



74 HEART TALKS 

cess could not now be his. Likewise sometimes we must 
suffer for others if we would save them. So if you would 
be a worker for God and know how to enter truly into the 
sorrows and needs of others, you must yourself drink 
the bitter cup and feel the chastening 1 rod. 

After the Lord called me to his work, I endured some 
great soul-conflicts. In them I suffered inexpressibly. 
I almost despaired at times, but I look back upon those 
things now as being the things that made me understand 
the human heart, that gave me a broader sympathy, and 
that have since enabled me to enter into the sorrows and 
needs of others and to minister comfort and help as I 
could not otherwise have done. Those early sufferings 
unlocked a thousand mysteries and enriched not only 
my Qwn life but also the lives of others. Endure these 
things with patience; for out of them will come to you 
that which is more precious than gold. If you do not 
suffer, you can be of little use to those who do suiffer. 
The promise is, "If we suffer with him, we shall also 
reign with him." 

Abraham suffered in that one supreme sacrifice, but 
his example of faithfulness in the test has enriched mil- 
lions of souls. Job suffered not only physical agony but 
the keenest and deepest of spiritual agony, yet that suf- 
fering was only an opportunity for God to manifest his 
mercy and kindness. How much Job learned of God by 
enduring through these dark days and how much the 
world has learned! If we should take out of the Bible 
the record of suffering and its results that are written 
there, we should take out of it all that is best and noblest 
and most helpful and encouraging. How much poorer 



IT PLEASED THE LORD TO BRUISE HIM 75 

we should be if the sacred record told only of joy and 
peace and comfort, if it spoke only of victory and 
achievement, and told us nothing of the hard road that 
leads up to them! If the Lord chastises us, it is "for 
our profit"; if Ood smites, it is only to enrich; so bear 
with patience, endure as seeing him who is invisible. 
Be "patient in tribulation," drink the cup of your 
Gethsemane, wear your thorny crown without complaint, 
endure your Calvary ; for unto you is given both to suf- 
fer and to reign with him. 



76 HEART TALKS 

TALK FOURTEEN 
PUTTING CLOUDS OVER THE SUN 

A little boy was walking down the street rejoicing in 
the possession of a bright new penny. He was going to 
buy some candy with it. He could almost taste it al- 
ready, but just then he dropped his penny upon the 
sidewalk. An olden boy seized it and started off. The 
little boy began to cry and demanded his penny, but the 
other boy only laughed derisively. It was a mean trick. 
It spoiled the whole day for the boy, and ever after when 
he thinks of the incident, he will have an unpleasant 
feeling. The older boy put a dark cloud over the little 
fellow's sun that day, and the shadow will be cast upon 
him through other days. 

A number of persons were sitting in a room talking 
over a matter. During the conversation one man made 
a charge against another, comparing him half contemp- 
tuously with a man whose conduct had been quite unbe- 
coming. The charge was like a dagger in the man's 
heart. He knew it was both untrue and unjust. He 
was conscious of the uprightness of his conduct. He 
had always held the other man in high esteem, and to be 
thus publicly wounded by him was almost unbearable. 
He made no defense, but he went out of that room with 
an aching heart, humiliated and wronged. His friend 
had put a great cloud over his sun. Years have passed, 
but the darkness of that cloud has not yet all passed 
away. When he thinks of the injustice, there is still a 
pang in his heart. He does not feel bitter toward the 



PUTTING CLOUDS OVER THE SUN 77 

other ; he has forgiven ; but the close tie has been broken. 
He has never since been able to confide in the one who 
did him such an injury. 

A faithful minister had labored for years for souls. 
He had been successful ; he had been a blessing to many. 
One day a certain person spoke of him half jestingly in 
a manner that aroused the suspicions of some others who 
were present. These suspicions grew until they became 
whispers, and the whispers grew till they became open 
charges. The minister could not prove them to be false. 
They hindered his labors. They bowed down his head 
with sorrow. Some one had put a cloud over his sun 
and over his name, and for years the dark shadow of it 
rested upon his life. 

How easy it is to put a cloud over some one's sun, to 
make some life dark that might have been bright! It 
may seem only a little thing, but sometimes a little cloud 
can make a dark shadow. We may not see either the 
cloud or the shadow, but the heart that is darkened both 
sees and feels. How many times parents, by unkind 
words or actions, becloud their children 's sky ! One way 
in which parents do this is by telling the faults of their 
children to visitors, in the presence of the children. 
There is scarcely anything more disheartening to a child 
than this. He feels humiliated and hurt. He feels, 
and justly feels, that he has been mistreated. It sinks 
down into his soul and rankles there. It discourages 
him, and if it is often repeated he comes not to care if 
he is at fault. Constant reproof and faultfinding make 
a child's life gloomy and sad. That is not the way to 
cure faults; it is the way to make them worse. 



78 HEART TALKS 

I once knew a young saint who had a rich experience 
of salvation. A certain relative who opposed her relig- 
ion began finding fault with her and kept doing so at 
every opportunity. The result was that that young life 
was beclouded and a deep melancholy settled down over 
her. Her cheerfulness gave way to sadness and morose- 
ness. The song of joy, once so often upon her lips, was 
stilled. Some one had put a cloud over her sun, and 
her life was never what it otherwise might have been. 

Children may darken the hearts and lives of their 
parents. How many times is the mother-heart or father- 
heart grieved by the conduct of the children ! It may be 
that they are only thoughtless, or they may be dis- 
obedient and wilful. Young people, cherish your par- 
ents, try to make their lives as bright as you can. They 
have many cares. These are enough for them to bear 
without your adding a single one. When you have grown 
older and they have gone out of your life, you may look 
back w T ith a pang of regret at the times when you caused 
their hearts to ache. Brighten their lives while you 
may; then when you look into the open grave where 
Father or Mother is being laid to rest, your conscience 
will not smite you. 

We are told that "no man liveth unto himself." 
There is a circle of influence about our lives that affects 
every other life that we touch. We brighten or darken 
the lives about us. We lighten or make heavier the bur- 
dens of others. Every unkind word or look makes a 
shadow on some life. Every slighting remark, every 
sarcastic fling, every contemptuous smile, puts a cloud 
over somebody's sun. Lack of appreciation has darkened 



PUTTING CLOUDS OVER THE SUN 79 

many a life. How much better it would be to take away 
the clouds, to banish the gloom! You can do this just 
as easily as you can bring clouds. It is just as easy to 
speak kind words as to speak unkind ones, and you will 
feel much better over it yourself. You can encourage 
and help, you can speak words of appreciation. When 
people please you, let them know it. When people do 
well, or even when they try to do well and fail, you 
can show that you appreciate their efforts. You can 
be cheerful and courteous and kind. That will make 
sunshine for others. There are enough clouds in life 
at best in this world of sorrow. Be a sunshine-bearer. 
Drop a little good cheer into every life you touch. No 
matter what you are by nature, you can form the habit 
of being cheerful and encouraging. Even when you have 
heavy burdens yourself, you can be encouraging and 
helpful to others. 

Do not let your troubles be mirrored on your face. 
One's face can smile and his words can be cheery if his 
own heart does ache. I am not writing a mere theory. 
I know what pain and gloom and heaviness are. I know 
what burdens are. During the first few months of my 
illness every one knew how I felt. My face told the 
story without words. I finally saw that that would not 
do, and deliberately set to work to get the gloom out of 
my face and out of my words. You who read what I 
write know something of my success. You can do the 
same. 



80 HEART TALKS 

TALK FIFTEEN 
WHAT IS YOUR WORD WORTH? 

Everything is measured by some standard of value. 
Material things are measured by length, breadth, weight, 
density, usefulness, or intrinsic value. Character also 
has its standard of measurement. Some people are val- 
ued more highly than others, whether in the community, 
in the church, or in the nation. People are valued, not 
for their physical size or weight, but for their abilities 
and more especially for their characters. In a Christian 
the special thing of value, and the only special thing, is 
his character. If one's character is not of a higher and 
better quality than that of people in general, one has 
no right to the name Christian. 

The quality of one's character is indicated in various 
ways. One's words are generally a clear index to one's 
character. A person is judged by them, and his value is 
reckoned by the reliance that may be placed upon his 
word. We know some on whose word we fully rely. 
If they tell us anything, we believe them. If they make 
us a promise, we do not expect it to be broken. We rely 
upon them because they have shown by their conduct 
that they themselves place a high value upon their own 
word. Of such persons it is often said, "If he says it 
is so, it is true," or, "If he makes a promise, he will 
fulfil it, " Such men wield a strong influence in a com- 
munity. People can easily believe and trust in their 
character. It is a sad fact that such individuals are the 
exception rather than the rule, even among professed 
Christians. How many times promises are made only to 



WHAT IS YOUR WORD WORTH 81 

be broken or forgotten ! This is a grave matter and 
marks a serious defect in Christian character. We should 
never make a promise unless we fully expect to fulfil it, 
and we ought to feel under deep obligation to keep our 
promise. If we are careless and neglectful of this, it is 
sure to lower us in men 's esteem, and we shall be cheap- 
ened and discredited. 

Hasty Promises 

Many times promises are made hastily. The person 
does not stop to consider what he really is promising; 
he does not weigh its meaning. He says, "Yes, yes, I 
will ' ' ; but later when he thinks the matter over, it looks 
different to him. He is sorry that he made the promise, 
and begins to look for some way out so that he will not 
have to fulfil it. 

These hasty promises are just as binding as any 
others. If we ignore them and do not make our word 
good, the persons to whom we have made them will have 
just reason to condemn us. It is easier to make promises 
than it is to fulfil them. Beware of making haste to 
promise. Think about the fulfilment. Think whether 
you really want to do, or, really will do, what you prom- 
ise. Consider your promises binding. Have the fear 
of God before you just as much in this matter as in 
other things. If you wish people to value your word, 
you must show that you value it yourself. If you do 
not value it enough to keep it, do not expect others to 
value it. If you value your word, it will make you care- 
ful about your promises — careful in making them, care- 
ful in keeping them. 



82 HEART TALKS 

Do not make rash promises. Consider what you are 
promising. Is it something that you can perform ? Con- 
sider your ability and what things may hinder. Have 
you any just reason to suppose that you can fulfil it? 
Would it be wise for you to do it? Would it be best? 
Have you made other promises that will conflict with it ? 
Remember that when you once promise, if you do not 
keep your word your failure leaves a shadow upon your 
character in the mind of the one you promised unless 
there is some good and sufficient reason to excuse you 
in his sight. 

Do not make careless promises. The Bible tells us 
that in our planning we should say, "If the Lord 
will"; that is, we should take into consideration that 
the unexpected may happen. We do not know the fu- 
ture; therefore we ought not to make our promises too 
positive. We ought to qualify them so as to allow for 
hindrances. 

We ought to be honest in making our promises. Many 
promises are made when there is no intention of carry- 
ing them out. Many people, rather than to say no, will 
promise and then refuse to perform, thereby making 
themselves liars. They have not manhood enough to 
refuse and honestly tell why, so they make a promise 
and break it. That is the coward's way out. It is the 
dishonest way out. 

Some people say, "If the Lord wills, I will do so," 
when they do not consider the Lord in the matter at 
all, but simply mean, "If I do not change my mind." 
Do not throw the odium on the Lord. If you think you 
may change your mind, do not commit yourself definite- 



WHAT IS YOUE WORD WORTH 83 

ly. If you are not fully decided, do not be afraid to 
say that you do not know what you will do. Be honest 
enough to let the other know the state of your mind. 
Be honest in making promises; be honest in fulfilling 
them. 

Fidelity to Promises 

Do not make too many promises. He who is too free 
to promise, places little value upon his promises. He 
forgets them readily or lets some trifle hinder the per- 
formance of them. He always has a ready excuse to 
ease his conscience and to release himself from the obli- 
gation. This indicates a want of character, a lack of 
real sincerity. 

When you make a promise, do not forget it, do not 
break it. Never disappoint people when you can help 
it. They feel disappointment as keenly as you do. There 
is an old saying that "promises are like pie-crust — 
made to be broken." Are your promises of the pie- 
crust variety? 

Possibly you have heard the story of the old deacon. 
A man came to him one day to endeavor to get him to 
fulfil a promise that he had made. The deacon refused. 
The other urged and entreated him, but still he refused, 
and finally said, "The Bible says that we should let 
our words be yea, yea, and nay, nay ; and my words are 
so." "Yes," quickly retorted the other, "when you are 
asked to make a promise, they are yea, yea; but when 
you are asked to fulfil it, they are nay, nay." This is 
one brand of yea-and-nay Christians, but not the kind 
in whom God delights or man trusts. 

When you make promises, keep them. They are a 



84 HEART TALKS 

test of your character. I do not mean that you should 
be under bondage to your promises. Sometimes we fully 
believe we can and will perform them, but later find 
that it is impossible. In such a case we should explain 
matters and so relieve the mind of the one to whom the 
promise was made and show him that the failure to make 
good our w T ord is not due to neglect or unwillingness. 
Keep your business promises. Many persons get into 
debt and promise to pay and then just let things drift 
along. This is w T rong. Pay your debts when you agree 
to, or give a reason for not doing so, and let it be a 
reason, not an excuse. If you promise to do work for 
some one, do it. Keep your promise if you must sac- 
rifice to do so. 

Many parents are very careless and inconsiderate re- 
garding their promises to their children. Children will 
"tease" for things if allowed. Too many times parents 
make promises that they do not expect ever to fulfil, 
just to be rid of the children's asking. Children soon 
learn the value of such promises, and they learn the 
value of your character. Do not lie to your children; 
do not make promises to them unless you mean them. 
If you make promises to them and then are not able to 
keep them, value your word enough and their respect 
enough to explain to them the reason. 

Reader, what is your word w T orth? What value do 
you place on it? What value do others place on it? 
What value does God place on it? God wants you to 
"speak the truth, and lie not." Your standing, your 
influence, your usefulness — all depend upon your faith- 
fulness; and if you are faithful, you will be faithful 



WHAT IS YOUR WORD WORTH 85 

to your promises. Think seriously over these things. 
If you are at fault, set about to amend. Such a fault 
will be a blight upon your life and upon your character 
until it is corrected. When the Psalmist pictures a 
righteous man, he says that he "sweareth [promiseth] 
to his own hurt, and changeth not. ' ? Are you that sort 
of righteous person? 



86 HEART TALKS 

TALK SIXTEEN 
HOW TO KEEP OUT OF TROUBLE 

Old Uncle John was not so spry as he had once been, 
There were only a few black hairs left among the many 
gray ones. His limbs were shaky and his steps faltering. 
He was "no good for work any more," he said; but 
there were two things that he kept on doing right along : 
he seemed to be always smiling and he seemed to be al- 
ways praising the Lord. "Happy John," people called 
him, and he certainly deserved the name. He did not 
seem to have much of this world's goods to make him 
glad. His lot in life did not appear to be more than usu- 
ally pleasant, nor was there anything in the way of 
external evidence to show whence his happiness came. 
I had often sat and gazed upon his placid face lifted in 
devotion to God. He never seemed to get into trouble. 
No matter what happened, Uncle John seemed to have 
no part in the trouble. With others, troubles came and 
troubles went, but Uncle John still smiled and praised 
the Lord. 

One day I was standing outside the meeting-house with 
a little company of brethren, when Uncle John came 
walking out, smiling as usual and praising the Lord. 
One of the brethren said to him, "Uncle John, how does 
it come that you are always so happy and never seem 
to get into trouble f" He stopped and looked at the 
speaker with a broad smile, and answered, "I just praise 
the Lord and mind my own business. " He turned and 
walked away, but his words lingered in my ears and were 



HOW TO KEEP OUT OF TROUBLE 87 

indelibly impressed upon my memory. His secret was 
very simple, but very effective. And thus he went on 
smiling, praising the Lord and minding his own busi- 
ness, and he was " happy John'' even to the end. Many 
years ago he went to his reward, but the lesson that I 
learned that day has never been lost. 

Uncle John's rule for keeping out of trouble seemed 
very simple. It looks very easy to mind one's own busi- 
ness, but it is one of the hardest things in the world to 
do, because it is one of the hardest things in the world 
for us to be willing to do. The Scripture says, "Every 
fool will be meddling," and it is so hard for some folks 
not to act like fools, anyway in this particular respect, 
even though they are ever so wise. The affairs of others 
are so interesting to them ! This is a very human trait, 
but it sometimes leads to unpleasant consequences. 

God knew the failing of people on this line, so he 
said, "Study to be quiet, and to do your own business" 
(1 Thess. 4:11). You have, no doubt, studied a great 
many lessons, but have you studied this particular one? 
It is evident that many have not yet learned this if they 
have studied over it. Probably they did not know that 
it requires studying. Possibly they never thought of it as 
being an object for study. But it is. We shall never 
graduate in the school of wisdom until we study this 
lesson and learn it thoroughly. "Study to be quiet and 
to do your own business." That is the lesson. Have 
you learned it ? Some folks are always talking, talking, 
talking. There seems to be no end to their talk. When 
people talk so much they are sure to talk of some things 
that should not be talked of. Some people can not keep 



88 HEART TALKS 

an experience of salvation because they talk too much., 
and as a result they have a great deal of spiritual trou- 
ble that might be avoided. But, then, they are so inter- 
ested in their friends and neighbors! How can they 
help talking about them? Why, just let them spend 
their time in studying to be quiet. Let them give them- 
selves a few lessons in minding their own business. 

Peter had that human trait. He was interested in 
what John was going to do. When he asked the Lord. 
"What shall this man do?" he received an answer. He 
did not have to wait for it. It was this, "What is that 
to thee? Follow thou me." I have known many good 
Christian people who became mixed up in neighborhood 
or family affairs and got into a great mess of trouble be- 
cause they failed to mind their own business. If there 
is a dog-fight going on, all the dogs in the community 
seem to want to join in it. There seems to be something 
in humanity that is very much the same. If there is 
trouble in the community they want to mix into it some 
way or another. Trouble is a thing that is much easier 
to get into than it is to get out of. 

More people get into trouble through the wrong use 
of their tongues than through any other means, I sup- 
pose. The Wise Man says, ' ' He that keepeth his tongue 
keepeth his soul from trouble." He also says, "The 
beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water." 
You know how it runs in every direction, so that you can 
not gather it up again nor confine it. Never meddle 
with the strife of others. You are sure of an abundant 
crop of trouble if you do. It is written, "He that pass- 
eth by and meddleth with strife belonging not to him is 



HOW TO KEEP OUT OF TROUBLE 89 

like one that taketh a dog by the ears." You know how 
that is : if he holds fast he will get into trouble, and if 
he lets go he will get into trouble. 

There are some people who are religious and who seem 
to get along pretty well until their children get mixed up 
in trouble with some one. Just as sure as that happens 
they are in the trouble, too. They think that their chil- 
dren could not be to blame. They take the children's 
part, and trouble is the result. And when they have got- 
ten out of the trouble, if they do get out, they have 
dishonored both themselves and their religion. There are 
others who can never let trouble alone if their friends or 
neighbors are in it. They will mix in. They feel that 
they must defend their friends, and they are often so 
partial in their feelings toward them that they can not 
believe them to be in the wrong. They become all heated 
in the thing, and before they know it they have a big 
case of spiritual trouble on hand in addition to the 
other trouble. 

When people get into trouble, they like to tell others 
about it. If you have sympathetic ears for trouble, you 
can hear plenty of it. When you hear such things, it 
is very easy to pass them on to some one else. Never let 
yourself be a news-carrier for trouble. You will have 
trouble of your own if you do. The only business that 
a Christian has in relation to such troubles is as a peace- 
maker, and even then he must be very cautious and 
wise, or he will become involved. 

Few people want to take God's way out of trouble. 
They will do anything to have their own way out. We 
are told to leave off strife before it is meddled with. 



90 HEART TALKS 

That is the only safe way. While you are out, keep out ; 
and the only way to keep out is to mind your own busi- 
ness. Try Uncle John's rule. It will work very well. 
It is a splendid preventive of trouble. Would you be 
happy? Would you have the confidence of your neigh- 
bors and associates? Would you be free from worldly 
entanglements? Would you have a contented heart and 
a cheerful mind? Would you be worthy of the esteem 
of the people? Would you be different from worldly 
people ? Would you be a sunshine-bearer for your neigh 
borhood ? There is just one way to do it. You must do 
as " happy John" did — smile, praise the Lord, and mind 
your own business. 



WHAT THE REDB1RD TOLD ME 91 

TALK SEVENTEEN 

WHAT THE REDBIRD TOLD ME 

It was a cold winter morning. Snow covered the 
ground. The frost on the trees sparkled in the bright 
sunlight like ten thousand diamonds. But the bright- 
ness outside seemed to find no reflection in me. I had 
been confined to my bed for more than six months. 
I was gloomy and despondent. It seemed as though all 
the light and joy had gone out of my life and that only 
pain and suffering and sorrow were left to me. I had 
no desire to live. Again and again I prayed that I might 
die. I should have welcomed any form of death, even 
the most horrible. I had grown morbid, and almost 
despaired. I had been prayed for again and again, but 
the healing touch came not. Life seemed to hold for 
me no ray of hope, no gleam of sunshine. 

As I lay brooding in my melancholy state, a red 
grosbeak, with his bright red plumage, alighted on a 
tree a few feet from my window. His eyes sparkled as 
he gazed at me with interest. He turned his head now 
this way and now that, apparently studying me intent- 
ly, and then he gave a cheery call and hopped as near 
to me as he could get and repeated his cries over and over. 
Somehow his cries took the form of words in my mind. 
This is what he said to me: "You, you, you, cheer up, 
cheer up, cheer up." He hopped about from limb to 
limb, wiping his beak, picking at pieces of bark, but 
ever and anon hopping back to look at me and cry again. 
Cheer up, cheer up, cheer up." This he did for a 



i i 



92 HEART TALKS 

long time, then he flew away, only to return soon and to 
peer at me again, crying his merry * ' You, you, you, cheer 
up, cheer up, cheer up." For more than two hours he 
continued to repeat this and then went away, and fan 
in the distance I heard the last echoes of his notes still 
saying, " Cheer up, cheer up." 

It seemed as though God had sent the bird to bring a 
message to my soul; and as I thought of the cold and 
the snow and the winter winds, of the bird's uncertain 
supply of food, of his many enemies, and considered 
that, in spite of all this, he could be so cheerful and gay, 
it made me feel ashamed that I should be so melancholy 
and despondent. His message, enforced by his example, 
sank into my heart. I began to think over the favorable 
side of my situation. I began to consider how many 
things the Lord had bestowed upon me in the past — his 
mercy, his kindness, and his blessings. My heart took 
courage, hope began to lift herself up from the dust. 
I reflected over the way I had yielded to discouragement. 
I saw that if I was ever to rise above it I must set myself 
resolutely to the task of looking upon the bright side and 
of overcoming the gloom and heaviness. The message 
of the bird made me ashamed to submit longer to my 
feelings. I resolved then and there that I would be dif- 
ferent. And from that day I began to act and think and 
speak more cheerfully. Many times I had to act con- 
trary to the way I felt, but I found that this was hav- 
ing an influence upon my feelings, and the more I prac- 
tised being cheerful the more cheerful I became. Many 
times I have been sorely pressed down in spirit, but I 
have found that I can act cheerfully and talk cheerfully 



WHAT THE REDB1RD TOLD ME 93 

even in the midst of depression, and that this is not 
hypocrisy, but the true way in which to meet such things 
and conquer them. 

Cheerfulness is largely a matter of habit. We must 
do one of two things — either yield to our feelings and 
let them be our master or compel our feelings to yield to 
us that we may be their master. It is a case of conquer- 
ing or being conquered. So many persons are at the 
mercy of their emotions. If they do not feel well in 
body, or their mind is troubled, or their spiritual sky 
is clouded, they yield themselves to gloomy thoughts and 
look upon the dark side of the picture. Their thoughts 
and feelings are reflected in their faces and actions and 
words. This, in turn, reacts upon them, and they then 
feel worse in body and mind. Every one around them 
knows how they feel. This is putting a premium on your 
bad feelings. It is encouraging them. And it is a very 
bad habit. You can be cheerful if you will. Do not 
wear your troubles on your face. Do not let them put a 
note of sadness in your voice. Cease your sighing: you 
are only adding to your burdens. Take the bird's ad- 
vice and cheer up. You can if you will. You can hide 
your burdens instead of advertising them. To hide them 
will help you to forget them. You have a place to put 
your burdens — " Casting all your care upon Him." 

I still suffer ; I still have periods of mental depression ; 
but I have learned to be cheerful and not let these things 
be on exhibition. I find it now the easier, and by far 
the better, way. Cheerfulness is a habit ; get the habit. 
It depends upon you, not upon your circumstances. You 
can rule your circumstances instead of letting them rule 



94 HEART TALKS 

you. Take hold of your bad feelings with a will and 
conquer them with cheerfulness. The task may not be 
easy at first, but keep at it and you will win. Do not 
despair if you lose a few battles. You may have culti- 
vated gloom for so long a time that it has become the 
fixed state of your mind. Overcome the habit. God will 
help you. When your feelings become gloomy, say, 
' ' I will not be so, ' ' and force your mind into other chan- 
nels. It will want to go back to its former habit, but 
as often as you catch yourself thinking along gloomy 
lines turn your thoughts back to the sunshine. Put good 
cheer into your voice and a smile on your face, no matter 
how you feel. It will prove a tonic for soul, mind, and 
body. Listen to the redbird. Hear his merry " Cheer 
up, cheer up," and act upon his advice. You will find 
it worth while. 



WHAT OLD BILL COULD NOT DO 95 

TALK EIGHTEEN 
WHAT OLD BILL COULD NOT DO 

Old Bill M — was a drunkard. Everybody knew it. 
People expected to see him stagger as he walked; that 
was the common thing. As a young man he had been 
the leader among his chums, and people thought he would 
make his mark in the world. He had excelled most of 
his companions, but alas! it was not in the things that 
make men noble and great. As people said, "The drink 
was getting him." He was a familiar figure in each of 
the three saloons in A — . He was popular, for he was 
good-natured and jolly. He was still the leader of a 
company, who called themselves the " bunch/ ' Each 
night they made the rounds of the saloons, then at a late 
hour staggered homeward. 

Yes, Old Bill was a drunkard. He had tried many 
times to quit. His friends had warned him and advised 
him to quit. His wife had begged him a hundred times, 
with tears running down her face. He had promised 
again and again, had tried, over and over, to master the 
habit, but it held him fast. One night when he went 
home, drunk as usual, he found his wife seriously ill. 
Three days he watched by her bedside, and then the end 
came. In her dying hour she laid her hand on his 
and asked him once more for her sake, and his own, to 
quit drinking. Bill promised with hot tears falling like 
rain, and he meant it with all his heart. 

Two days later he followed her body to the church, 
and as he took his last look at that still form, he vowed 



96 HEART TALKS 

with all his strength of will never to touch drink again. 
He walked silently back to his home, but it was not home 
any more. He was heart-broken. What would he do? 
How could he bear it? Presently two of his comrades 
came out to sympathize with him. After talking a 
while, one pulled a bottle from his pocket, saying, ' ' Here, 
Bill, take a bit to brace you up." "No, Jack," he an 
swered, "I'm going to quit the stuff; I promised her I 
would." "That's all right," said Jack, "but you need 
a little now for your nerves." He lifted the bottle to 
his own lips, then held it uncorked in his hand. The 
odor entered Bill's nostrils, the old appetite asserted 
itself, and before he knew it he had seized the bottle. 
A minute later it was empty ! When Bill next came to 
realize what was happening, it was a week later. He had 
been drunk all the time; he did not even know what 
day it was ; but when he realized what had happened, he 
was stricken with remorse. He knew now, as never 
before, that drink was his master. 

Two years passed. His few belongings had been sold 
to pay the funeral expenses; the remainder had gone for 
drink. Another family lived in the home now. Mr. 
Wilson, a kind neighbor, had given him a home, and he 
worked for him when he was sober enough. One evening 
as he was making his way to the saloon as usual, he heard 
singing. "That's strange," he muttered; "wonder 
what's going on?" He turned and walked toward the 
singing and soon found a large tent filled with people. 
"Queer-looking show," he thought as he approached 
the entrance. A pleasant-faced young man stepped up 
to him and said, "Come in, Bill, and I will get you a 



WHAT OLD BILL COULD NOT DO 97 

good seat." He mechanically followed the usher in. 
The singing was good, and he enjoyed it. Presently a 
man arose and, with tears running down his face, re- 
lated that he had been a drunkard, and that after years 
of trying to overcome the habit, he had finally turned to 
God for help, and that he was now a free and happy 
man. Bill understood the struggle part, but not the 
rest. He knew what it meant to fail, and as he pondered 
he thought of his wife. Did she know how he had broken 
his promise ? Did she weep over him now as she used to ? 

Some one entered the pulpit and talked for a long 
time, but Bill did not hear anything he said. Bill was 
thinking, thinking. There was a man who had "beat 
the drink," and he said the Lord had helped him. Bill 
wondered if the Lord would help him. When the preach- 
er finished, the first man rose again; Bill straightened 
up and looked keenly. "Yes," he thought, "he has been 
a drinker all right, and a hard one ; his face shows it. ' ' 
The speaker was inviting men to Christ for the help they 
needed. 

Old Bill never quite knew how it happened, but he 
suddenly found himself up in front holding the strang- 
er's hand and telling him that he wanted help to quit 
drink. Side by side they knelt while the saved man 
earnestly poured out his heart to God for the drunkard. 
Old Bill did not know how to pray, he had never tried 
in his life, but he wanted help ; all his soul longed for it. 
He listened to the other man praying. He was asking 
for just what Bill needed ; his heart joined in. Yes, he 
wanted to quit drinking; he wanted to be a good man, 
but he had to have help. The other man prayed as 



98 HEART TALKS 

though God were right close by, and Bill felt that He 
must be, so he said: "Yes, God, I'll quit it if you'll help 
me. I'll be a man if you'll help me, but I can't do it by 
myself!" That was all, but he meant it, and he felt 
that God would help him. A strange, quiet peace came 
into his heart, and he really felt happy. He went home 
sober that night. 

Some of the ' ' bunch ' ' outside the tent had seen Bill 
go forward, and soon the news was in all the saloons. 
"He'll be back by Saturday night," they said. But he 
did not come back. Instead he was in the meeting telling 
the people what wonderful things God had done for him. 
He did not want strong drink any more at all, he de- 
clared. The "bunch" did not believe this. They laughed 
and made many prophecies; they waited week by week, 
but Old Bill came to the saloon no more. Two years 
passed ; Bill lived a joyful Christian life and never tired 
of telling what the Lord had done for him. He went 
out to a country schoolhouse, where he organized a Sun- 
day-school and labored zealously and successfully. 

There were many temptations. At first the "bunch" 
laughed and made him the butt of many rude jests, then 
they laid plans to trap him. One day one of them stuck 
an open whisky-bottle under his nose, saying, ' ' Smell it, 
Bill ; ain 't it a fine odor ? ' ' Bill stepped back, all smiles, 
and said quietly, "Well, Tom, drink was my master a 
long time, but I have a better Master now. " He went on 
his way unobstrusively but steadily, and finally won the 
respect and confidence of all. 

At last the end came ; Old Bill was dead. There was a 
peaceful smile upon his face, for his sun had gone down 



WHAT OLD BILL COULD NOT DO 99 

in splendor. The "bunch" followed him to the grave. 
They could not quite understand even yet what had hap- 
pened to him. It was a wonderful change, and his life 
had won their respect, and they followed him silently 
to his last resting-place. After the burial they stood 
talking it over in a little group by themselves. "I 
thought the drink had him sure, ' ' said one ; " I don 't see 
how he beat it." "It was not Bill who did it," said a 
quiet voice behind them; "it was Jesus Christ." They 
turned and saw the pastor walking away. "Guess the 
parson must have it right," said one of them. "It was 
a pretty good job, too." 



100 HEART TALKS 



TALK NINETEEN 
DIVINE AND WORLDLY CONFORMITY 

The Scriptures say, ' ' Be not conformed to this world : 
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" 
(Rom. 12:2). They also say that we should be "con- 
formed to the image of his Son" (Rom. 8:29). We 
have here two sorts of conformity, one of which is con- 
demned and the other approved. Much is said by some 
classes of religious professors about worldly conformity, 
while little is said about divine conformity. It is my 
purpose herein to point out the essential nature of these 
two kinds of conformity. 

By worldly conformity most religious teachers mean 
outward likeness of dress, manner, customs, etc. This, 
however, is not its true significance. Conformity to 
Christ does not mean dressing as he dressed, speaking 
the language that he spoke, eating the same kind of 
food that he ate, or observing any of those externals 
that went to make up his life. 

In the true meaning of the word, conformity goes 
deeper than externals. Two things may look very much 
alike and yet be very different in their natures. Pyrites 
of iron looks so much like gold that it has deceived many 
a person into thinking that he had found riches. For 
this reason it is called "fool's gold." Likewise things 
may outwardly seem very different, while in reality they 
are very much the same. A sparkling diamond seems 
very different from a lump of coal, but the chief dif- 



DIVINE AND WORLDLY CONFORMITY 101 

ference is only in the arrangement of their particles. 
Both are composed chiefly of carbon, so in nature they 
conform closely to each other. 

Conformity is a thing of nature, not of external ap- 
pearance. We are "by nature the children of wrath." 
Our likeness to the world consists in a likeness of char- 
acter, and for that reason we are told that we must be 
transformed. This transformation is a change of char- 
acter; it has to do, first of all, with internals, not with 
externals. 

Conformity to the world in most externals is not only 
advisable but necessary. We wear clothing as the world 
does; we live in, houses built like those around us; we 
speak the same language as sinners; we have the same 
habits of thought and speech in general that they have ; 
we use the same implements and tools ; we raise the same 
crops; we employ the same methods of work and busi- 
ness ; in fact, we conform to the world in all these things. 
We can not avoid doing this without sacrificing what is 
vital and proper in our lives. Conformity to the world 
in these externals becomes evil only when such con- 
formity has its origin in an evil principle in the heart 
or when it produces an evil effect. 

When Christ prayed for his disciples, he said, ' ' Keep 
them from the evil." Paul said, "As using and not 
abusing. " It is that which is evil, or the evil use that 
is made of externals, that is obnoxious to God. A proper 
use of all things is permissible, and if our hearts are 
conformed to God, we naturally desire and seek only the 
proper use of things. But the natural heart is wicked ; 
it is set on pleasing itself; it is full of vanity and pride. 



102 HEART TALKS 

So long as this condition exists, the heart is not con- 
formed to God. There must be a transformation, and 
this is not one which starts from the outside and works 
inward, for such at best could be only a reformation. 
The real transformation is a thing that begins on the 
inside and works a vital change in the spiritual condi- 
tion and character. When this internal change is wrought, 
it gives a new quality and direction to the whole range 
of thought and activity. It manifests itself in new de- 
sires and aspirations, in new habits and customs, in new- 
ness of speech and looks and behavior. When we are 
transformed so that we become new creatures in Christ 
Jesus, we begin to act like new creatures. But our 
bodies are not transformed : we still have bodies of flesh, 
which retain their natural desires and appetites, and 
these we may gratify in a lawful way without sin. 

When the heart is transformed and purified from its 
vanity and pride, these qualities will not be manifested 
in external things. But so long as pride and vanity re- 
main in the heart, preaching to people and requiring 
them to cease wearing worldly adornment is like trying 
to kill a tree by pulling off some of its leaves — the peo- 
ple may lay off such things under pressure, but they 
are no better than before. People must be taught the 
Bible standard of externals, but the chief thing is to get 
their hearts right. When the heart is conformed to the 
image of Christ, the words of the old song are true of it : 

(< There's no thirsting for life's pleasure, 
Nor adorning rich and gay; 
For I've found a richer treasure, 
One that fadeth not away. " 



DIVINE AND WORLDLY CONFORMITY 103 

Neither force nor persuasion is required to get persons 
with such an experience to act properly regarding ex- 
ternal things. 

In carrying out their idea of non-conformity to the 
world, some bodies of people have adopted a special 
garb or a special form of speech to distinguish them from 
others. This, however, is not a mark of real non-con- 
formity, but a mark of sectarianism. The true and only 
difference needful between ourselves and the world in 
externals is that we are to reject those things that are 
evil or that produce evil. All things else are lawful to 
us, though these lawful things must also be judged by 
the law of expediency. 

Conformity to Christ means conformity in character. 
It means purity of desire, so that our hearts reach out 
for only those things that are pure, and we are moved 
by pure motives and actuated by holy purposes. It 
means that we have a conscience toward God in what- 
ever we do. It means to put his will before everything 
else. It means that the dominating purpose of our life 
will be to please him in every detail, and not ourselves. 
A heart like this is not attracted by the vain and sin- 
ful things of the world; on the contrary, it is repelled 
by them. 

When the person is adorned with gold, jewels, costly 
or gaudy array, or immodest clothing, we must needs 
look for the root in the heart. There is where the trou- 
ble lies. There is the seat of the desire. It is useless 
to take off the externals while the internal corruption 
is permitted to continue. God hates all vanity and 
pride. There is no such element in his character. If 



104 HEART TALKS 

we are conformed to him, there is no such element in our 
character; and if our character is purged from these 
things, we have no desire for their external manifesta- 
tions. God loves meekness and modesty, and these are 
the opposites of display. If we are meek and modest in 
character, our dress and deportment will manifest these 
qualities. If we do not manifest them, it is because we 
do not possess them. 

It may not be out of place here to call attention to 
the Bible principles relating to the subject of dress and 
personal adornment. In beginning this phase of the 
subject we should note that the gospel is not a set of 
rules, but a revelation of moral principles. It is in- 
tended for all people in all countries, climates, and ages. 
"We should not, therefore, expect that these principles 
as they relate to dress would be revealed in other than 
the most general terms, or applied to the details of the 
subject. There is just one principle involved; we may 
sum up the whole subject under that one heading. The 
Bible standard of dress consists of just three words, but 
these three words cover the whole scope of life. They 
are, "in modest apparel" (1 Tim. 2:9). This is the 
standard, and this is the whole standard. We are given 
a hint regarding how to apply this standard, but our 
own good judgment is sufficient to draw the line in the 
right place, provided our hearts are conformed to the 
divine image. There is no excuse for fanaticism any 
more than there is for pride. Sound judgment and good 
sense will help us avoid both extremes. 

A definition of modesty is, "Restrained within due 
limits of propriety; free from indecency or lewdness; 



DIVINE AND WORLDLY CONFORMITY 105 

not excessive or extreme; moderate." A Christian's 
apparel should be modest in cut, that is, in the way it is 
made ; it should cover the body as a modest person would 
cover it, not displaying those parts that the prevailing 
standards of modesty require to be covered. Judged by 
this standard, very many religious professors come far 
short, their clothing being less than decency really re- 
quires. Such a thing, of course, does not have its origin 
in a pure heart. The woman who displays herself to 
attract attention is anything but modest. 

Clothing should be made to conform to modesty in all 
other respects also. Useless things added to one's ap- 
parel for the purpose of display and show do not con- 
form to modesty. "Loud" and flashy colors are not 
modest. The Bible does not forbid us to wear any 
particular shade, but there are shades and combinations 
that are showy and gaudy, and by their extremeness vio- 
late modesty, for modesty is the avoidance of extreme. 
Whatever we wear, it should be modest in color just as 
well as in other particulars. 

Christian apparel should be modest in texture; that 
is, it should not be so thin that it displays the body or 
the underwear. No man thinks a woman modest who 
wears goods so thin as to display her under-garments, 
or hosiery so thin as to display her limbs. Such things 
are very unbecoming to saints, and of course not less 
so to other people. Sisters, dress so that a modest man 
will not feel embarrassed in your presence. 

Apparel should be modest as to cost. It should not 
be what the Scriptures term "costly array." It is well 
to buy good material, and for such we must pay a good 



106 HEART TALKS 

price, but this is not what the Bible means by "costly 
array." It means not to be extravagant. We should 
not waste money, but make the best possible use of it. 

Some have thought it wrong to try to make our clothes 
becoming. This is not the case. The Bible says "that 
women adorn themselves in modest apparel"; that is, 
their apparel should be such as adorns or becomes them, 
so long as it is modest clothing. It should be adapted 
in cut, color, etc., to harmonize with the complexion, 
size, and height of the person. We owe it to ourselves 
to make a good appearance. To make ourselves out- 
landish or conspicuous in any way is neither wise nor 
right. It is violating modesty, and this is not consistent. 
It is only when we make a proper appearance that we 
can have a proper influence, and so be effective for God. 

God delights in modesty in dress, in words, in actions 
— in all things. Pride and show are an abomination to 
him, and if we conform to him in our inner life and 
character, outward conformity will naturally follow; 
but if inward desire runs out after that which is immod- 
est and gaudy, if the heart desires to display upon the 
person gold and jewels and finery, it is because it does 
not conform to the image of God 's Son, but to the world. 



BAPTIZED WITH FIRE 107 

TALK TWENTY 

BAPTIZED WITH FIRE 

John the Baptist said, when speaking of the work of 
the coming Messiah, ' ' He shall baptize you with the Holy 
Ghost and with fire. ' ' The symbolic tongues of fire which 
sat on the believers on the day of Pentecost represented 
a very real something which from henceforth would be 
manifested in their lives. It is not my purpose here to 
enter into an explanation of the Baptist's words. I wish 
to speak only of the fervency which fire represents, as 
it should characterize our lives. The life that has in it 
no fervency has little or nothing of God. The soul that 
is vigorous in God is a soul full of power. We need to 
be "on fire" for God, and there are three ways in 
which this fervency should manifest itself. 

A Burning Love 

We need a fervent love. It is the foundation, as it 
were, of all Christian fervency. If our love lacks ferven- 
cy, it lacks the vital element that makes it effective. If 
our love for God is kindled into a burning passion, it 
will put him before all else. His will and desire will 
be the delight of our hearts. His service will be no task, 
to sacrifice for him will be easy, and to obey him will be 
our meat. It will make our consciences tender toward 
him. What he loves we shall love, and whom he loves we 
shall love. If our love is fervent, we shall love truth, 
and we shall love it as it is worthy to be loved— above 
our own opinions or ideas and more than the teachings 



108 HEART TALKS 

of men. We will not sacrifice it or deny it for ease or 
comfort or to please others. We shall strive to make our 
lives conform to it. We shall labor with all our 
strength to spread it over the world. If we love the 
truth, we shall be missionaries whether we are at home 
or abroad. Love begets labor. 

A fervent love of the brethren glows in the heart that 
is full of God. It will burn up criticism and backbiting. 
It will burn up division and strife. It will destroy jeal- 
ousy and envy. It will make peace in the home, in the 
church, and in the individual heart. A thousand trou- 
bles come when love grows cold : the eyes see no more as 
they once saw, the ears hear no more as before, the tongue 
talks differently, and the heart feels differently, the glow 
dies out of the eyes, the tenderness leaves the touch, 
sympathy wanes in the heart, and there is ashes for beau- 
ty and heaviness instead of praise. When the first love 
is left, when the divine fire is quenched, out of the life 
has gone its richness, its transfiguring beauty; and what 
is left? 

O brother, sister, keep the red glow of fervency in 
your love. If you have lost it, rest not till it is re- 
kindled. Love makes us strong to do and to bear. John 
Knox said to God, "Give me Scotland or I die." That 
was love that shook a kingdom. Paul counted not his 
life dear to him. That was love that overthrew the 
idols of the heathen. God "so loved the world,' ' and a 
new era dawned, bringing light and salvation. If we 
have such love, it will work out in effectual action. A 
church fervent in love is a church reaching out and win- 
ning others. It is a church with an all-absorbing pas- 



BAPTIZED WITH FIRE 109 

sion for the lost. Let us ask ourselves today, i ' Have I a 
fervent love? or am I cold and has my love lost its 
strength ?" 

A Burning Zeal 

A man or a church without zeal is of necessity inef- 
fective. What is the temperature of your zeal ? Does it 
let you go for months without speaking to a soul about 
his salvation? Does it permit you to rest easy while 
others are toiling, praying, and sacrificing? About how 
much time on an average do you spend each day pray- 
ing for souls, or for the progress of the kingdom of God 
in the earth? About how often do you pray definitely 
for some of your neighbors, your friends, or business 
associates? About how long has it been since you in- 
vited some one to Christ? When did you pray with 
some one for his spiritual needs? When did you speak 
encouraging words ? When did you give some one a tract 
or paper ? When did you write a letter filled with spir- 
itual advice or help ? How much sacrifice are you mak- 
ing for the cause ? How much time, labor, or money have 
you expended for the kingdom in the past year ? Is your 
zeal dead, or is it in fervent activity? How much does 
the salvation of the world mean to you? 

Behold the zeal of the advocates of some of the false 
movements of these days! See how they pour out their 
money like water. See how they never* can be satisfied 
unless they are laboring for their movement. Are we 
as zealous as they? If not, why not? If we have the 
truth and know that we have it, should not that be enough 
to fire our zeal till it would not let us rest while there 
are others in darkness? Almost in sight of you, or per- 



110 HEART TALKS 

haps within a stone 's throw, are people who do not know 
the truth. If you do no more than you have done the 
past year, may they not live and die there and never 
know it? 

Zeal does not ask for excuses. Zeal is never satisfied 
till it has gone full length in labor. When one man was 
asked what was the secret of the marvelous success of 
the early church in its fight against heathenism, he re- 
plied with just one word, "Zeal." The same sort of zeal 
will produce results today. Zeal must, of course, be en- 
lightened. It can succeed only when guided by wisdom. 
Blind zeal is like a blind horse : it is likely to run in any 
direction regardless of results. So be wise when you are 
zealous. If you are truly wise with that wisdom "which 
cometh down from above," you will also be zealous. 

A Fervent Hatred 

A good Christian is a good hater. "Ye that love the 
Lord hate evil." This is an age of toleration. Almost 
any false doctrine may be preached, while many of the 
religious teachers of so-called orthodoxy plod on their 
way indifferently. Error thrives, a multitude of souls 
are deceived, but many seem but little concerned. Evil 
raises its head everywhere and sneers at the Christian 
people. Dens of vice, gambling-houses, lewd picture- 
shows, and a hundred other forms of evil are tolerated 
and even looked upon as "necessary evils" by religious 
professors. He who really loves God just as truly hates 
all evil. He so hates it in himself that he will give it no 
place in his heart or life. He hates it in others. He sees 
no pleasant thing in it. To him it is foul, vile, and 



BAPTIZED WITH FIRE 111 

revolting. It is his enemy, and he is its bitter foe. The 
measure of his love for good is the measure of his hatred 
for evil. We can not love the good more than we hate the 
evil. The two exactly balance in our lives. 

A burning love, a burning zeal, and a burning hatred 
will make your life as a beacon-light to the world; and 
if you would be a true example of what God means men 
to be, you must have this fervency in your life. It alone 
can keep you from coldness. It alone can make you a 
prosperous, victorious Christian. 



112 ' HEART TALKS 



TALK TWENTY-ONE 
WHAT TO DO WITH THE DEVIL 

Some people say there is no devil, but I am convinced 
that he is very real. In fact, I have had some personal 
experiences with him that leave no room for doubt. He 
is right here in this world. Like a lion he "goeth about 
seeking whom he may devour." What to do with him is 
the biggest problem that faces some Christians. They 
spend so much time thinking about the devil, fearing 
him, and trying to combat him, that they have little time 
for God. Their testimony is a testimony of the devil's 
doings and their conflict with him. Their religion is 
a negative, not a positive, thing. It consists in not doing 
and not being, not thinking and not feeling or in trying 
not to. They are working on the problem from the 
wrong end. Our problem is to do and be, to live a 
positive life. Life is for accomplishment and for char- 
acter-building. The overcoming of the obstacles that 
we meet is only incidental; it is not the main purpose 
of our lives. A great many persons think that they 
could accomplish great things and be wonderful Chris- 
tians if it were not for the devil. What to do with him 
is their problem. I shall tell you what to do. 

First, do not be afraid of him. Have you not read 
these words, ' t Greater is he that is in you, than he that 
is in the world"? If you will just believe that, you 
will have no cause to fear the devil. Do you not know 
that God is in you? and if he is in you, is he not more 



WHAT TO DO WITH THE DEVIL 113 

than a match for your adversary? "If God be for us, 
who can be against us 9 " Satan may oppose us, but 
he can not prevail against us. His opposition and his 
schemes will be brought to naught. Just add a little 
boldness to faith, and you will overcome him. Do not 
be frightened at his roaring. He can not touch you 
unless God permits, and if God permits him, it will 
only be to give you the greater victory in the end. Are 
you God's child? Will he permit anything that will do 
you permanent ill? Do not fear the devil; trust God. 
Give your attention and strength to pleasing him. If 
you will keep busy doing this, you will not have so much 
trouble with Satan. God does not want you to be shiver- 
ing with fear. He wants you to "be strong in the Lord 
and in the power of his might." 

Satan is like a lion; but when a lion roared against 
Samson, that man slew the beast with his naked hands 
because the Spirit of the Lord was upon him. If, in- 
stead of fearing, you will trust in the Lord to put his 
Spirit upon you when there is need of it, you may over- 
come Satan as easily as Samson did the lion. Daniel 
was thrown into the lions' den, but they did not eat 
him. God put a muzzle on them, not a literal muzzle, 
but something still more effectual, and they could not 
touch Daniel. 

Being afraid of the devil is much like being afraid of 
the darkness. When I was a boy, I was bold enough to 
go where I wanted to in the darkness ; but when I started 
for the house again, I could imagine that dogs and bears 
and all sorts of frightful things might be anywhere 
about, so I would run at full speed. There might have 



114 HEART TALKS 

been something, but if so, I never really knew it; but 
I would get panic-stricken just the same. If you become 
frightened this way in spiritual things, you may look 
upon it as only a childish habit. You will never be a 
"really and truly" grown-up man or woman for God 
until you get over your foolish fear of the devil. We 
are told to "resist him stedfast in the faith." It is 
faith that counts. If you have a gun, a crow will not 
fly near you. If you have faith, the devil will be more 
afraid of you than you are of him. Try using this 
weapon on him. You will find it very effectual. 

Second, do not run from him. A man from the East 
w T as once riding over a Western prairie with a party of 
friends, when he saw an Indian walking along. While 
he was looking at the Indian, an angry bull, which had 
been bellowing and pawing up the ground, suddenly 
charged the Indian. Instead of his running, as the 
Easterner expected him to do, he simply turned about, 
folded his arms, stood stock-still, and faced the angry 
animal. It came charging down till it was almost upon 
him, then suddenly stopped, looked at him, and ran 
around him. The Indian stood motionless. The animal 
bellowed and pawed and ran round and round him. 
He did not move, and the animal did not touch him, 
but presently went off and left him alone, after which 
the Indian went on his way as though nothing had 
happened. There is a good lesson in that for us. There 
is no use to run from the devil, for he can run faster 
than we can. Our victory is often won by our standing 
still to see the salvation of God. 

Third, watch. That is what our Lord commanded, 



WHAT TO DO WITH THE DEVIL 115 

but he did not say, "Watch the devil." The thing 
that we need to watch most is where our own feet are 
going. If we allow ourselves to be occupied in watching 
Satan, we may get out of the path and not know it. The 
Bible also says, "looking unto Jesus/' not, "looking 
unto Satan. " It is from God that our help comes. When 
we look at Satan, he appears great and terrible. When 
we look to God, we see his greatness and realize how 
much greater he is than Satan, and our courage rises, 
our strength is increased, our fears vanish, and we be- 
come confident. Look to God and where your own feet 
are going, and let God manage the devil. 

Fourth, ignore Mm. There is nothing Satan hates so 
much as to be ignored. For us to calmly go upon our 
way unafraid and trustful, not dismayed by his roaring, 
is not at all to his liking. If we will keep our hearts 
and minds occupied with good things and pay no at- 
tention to his threats, we shall find that he will go off 
and leave us. He may soon return, but if you meet him 
in the same way, he will not linger around you as he 
will if he can hold your attention upon himself. 

You have better use for your time than to let the 
enemy occupy it. Use it in active service for God. Je- 
sus said he would give us "rest unto our souls." Do 
you have that rest? God means for you to have it, but 
you can not have it if you keep your attention on Satan 
all the time. He will tantalize you if you will let him. 
While you are looking unto Jesus, you will not see the 
faces that Satan makes at you, and so will not be trou- 
bled. If you will listen to God, you will not have time 
to listen to Satan. If he is constantly troubling you, 



116 HEART TALKS 

it is because you are giving him opportunity. He is a 
conquered foe. The victory is yours, if you will have 



WAITING ON THE LORD 117 



TALK TWENTY-TWO 
WAITING ON THE LORD 

Some people are always in a hurry about things. If 
they want to do something or to have something, they 
can not wait, they must do it or have it at once. When 
they are compelled to wait, the time seems very long 
and their impatience grows with every delay. They 
can not quietly and patiently wait for anything. 

Such persons bring this same characteristic into their 
spiritual lives. When they pray, they want an immedi- 
ate answer — they want God to hurry up. If the answer 
is delayed, they get all worked up about it. Sometimes 
they murmur against the Lord and feel very bad, like 
spoiled children. Sometimes they pray a few times for 
what they desire, and if the answer does not come they 
conclude that God does not mean to answer them; so 
they give up seeking for it and sometimes question God 's 
faithfulness. If they see something that needs doing or 
something that is not going to please them, it must be 
remedied immediately; if it is not, they are much dis- 
pleased. They can not wait for a propitious time or 
till things have worked out so that they can be properly 
handled. Their motto seems to be, ' ' Do it now. ' ' That 
is all very well for some things, but quite frequently 
it is necessary to patiently wait on the Lord and upon 
others. We can not hurry the Lord; all time is his 
He works according to his own purposes and will, ac- 
cording to his own wisdom and plans. We can not 



118 HEART TALKS 

choose for him; we must be willing for him to choose 
for us. It must be his to say both as to "when" and 
"how." Ours is to wait and trust, his to choose and do. 

Many years ago I read a story. Later, when I was 
lying on my bed of affliction and praying earnestly for 
God to restore my health, he brought to my mind this 
story and applied its lesson to my soul. It was such 
a help to me that I will give it to you also. I had been 
much troubled because I was not healed. I would pray 
very earnestly, with a longing that seemed to draw out 
all my soul. Others would pray also, but there was no 
answer from God. Disappointment and discouragement 
seemed to shut me in with walls of darkness. A feeling 
of helplessness and almost of utter hopelessness came 
over me. I was in this condition when God brought to 
my memory this long-forgotten story and applied it to 
my heart with a peculiar emphasis that made it a direct 
message from him to my soul. 

This is the story : The king of a certain country was 
growing old, and he had no son to succeed him. He 
announced to his people that he would choose an heir 
to the throne from among the young men of the country 
by a competitive test which would give all an equal 
chance. On the day appointed a great number of young 
men presented themselves. A certain test was made, 
and some failed while others passed. Then other tests 
came, and each time some were rejected till at last only 
three were left. 

They were put through test after test, but all seemed 
equally able to meet them, so the king announced through 
his heralds that on the next day the matter would be 



WAITING ON THE LORD 119 

decided by a foot-race. The course was marked off, the 
judges were at their places, and all was ready. Just 
at this time a man came up to each of the contestants 
and said secretly to him, "The king is taking special 
note of you. Do not run when the signal is given until 
the king gives you a special signal." The three took 
their places eager for the race. The signal was given, 
one bounded forward quickly, then hesitated and 
stopped; then another sprang forward after him, upon 
which the first started forward again and they ran for 
the goal with all speed. The third stood looking anx- 
iously at the king and at the two runners, murmuring 
to himself, "I can make it yet, I can make it yet." 
The king gazed at the runners and gave no heed to the 
one still standing. The waiting man thought himself 
forgotten and soon realized that it would be impossible 
for him to win the race. He felt that all was lost for 
him. 

The two runners ran on at top speed, reaching the 
goal together. They were brought back, and all three 
stood before the king. To the first he said, "Were you 
not told not to run until I gave you the signal? Why 
then did you run?" 

"I forgot," said the man. 

Of the second he asked the same question. His re- 
ply was, "I thought it would be but a moment till you 
would give the signal, and seeing the other running I 
ran also." 

To the third he said, "And why did not you run?" 

"Because you did not give me the signal, sir," he an- 
swered. 



120 HEART TALKS 

"My son," said the king, "I knew that you could run, 
but I did not know that you could wait." 

So the young man found that the test was not a test 
of doing but of waiting. And thus the Lord said to me 
that day, "I knew that you could run, I knew that you 
would work with all your strength; but can you wait 
on me?" These words have been repeated over and 
over in my heart during the long years. It was a hard 
lesson to learn, and many times I have grown weary, 
many times I have longed for the end of the waiting; 
but that lesson has helped me to bear and to wait and 
to be patient in the waiting. Sometimes it has seemed 
that the answer would never come. Sometimes it has 
seemed that the Lord had forgotten. Many times I have 
had to say to my heart, "Be patient and wait." This 
is the hardest lesson that many of us ever have to learn, 
but learn it we must if God's will and his plan are to 
be fulfilled in our lives. 

There are some things for which we do not need to 
wait, but for which we need to press our petitions with 
earnestness and diligence and with an out-reaching 
grasp of faith for a "now" answer — for example, the 
supplying of a soul-need, such as forgiveness or sanc- 
tification, or physical or other help where the need is 
urgent. Sometimes people think that it is not the Lord's 
time to save or sanctify them or to give them some- 
thing else that is needed at once, when the trouble is 
they do not get in earnest enough or do not exercise 
faith as they might. God's time for necessary things, 
and especially for salvation work, is now; and if we do 
not receive when we seek, we may look for the fault in 



WAITING ON THE LORD 121 

ourselves or in our manner of seeking. Waiting on the 
Lord is not needful in this class of things and it will 
only hinder receiving. There are, however, many other 
things for which we may not know God's time and in 
the case of which growing impatient and trying to 
force matters will grieve God and hinder us. Unfulfilled 
desire patiently and submissively met is often a power- 
ful factor in character-building. 

Have you prayed for things, yearned for them, reached 
out after them, and yet your prayer is not yet answered ? 
Have you been tempted to believe that it was of no use 
to seek for them? If you are not seeking selfishly, or 
if God has not denied you, do not lose faith. God has 
said, "Ask, and ye shall receive"; and again he says, 
"They shall not be ashamed that wait for me" (Isa. 
49:23). God is faithful. He knows what is best. As 
a loving Father he watches over you. His ear is open 
to your cry. We are told to "rest in the Lord, and 
wait patiently for him." Do not grow impatient, do 
not become wrought up, but while you must wait on 
the Lord, rest in him. Jeremiah tells us how to wait 
for God to deliver — "It is good that a man should both 
hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord" 
(Lam. 3:26). Think of that expression, "hope and 
quietly wait." Do not these words mean confidence and 
soul-rest? Do they not mean assurance and trust ? They 
do not mean, however, that we should be careless. They 
imply activity of faith and desire, but they shut out fear 
and unbelief. The Psalmist says, "Wait on the Lord: 
be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart" 
(Psa, 27:14). Keep up your courage while you wait, 



122 HEART TALKS 

do not grow despondent, be strong in faith; God will 
not fail. 

Again, we are exhorted to "wait on the Lord, and 
keep his way" (Psa. 37 : 34). If wrongs are not righted, 
if persecutions continue, if, like Paul, we have a "thorn 
in the flesh" and our desires are not granted, let us do 
what this text tells us — let us "keep His way." Let us 
serve the Lord just as truly as though conditions were 
ideal and all our desires satisfied. Let us show our 
fidelity to God, by being true whether circumstances 
are favorable or unfavorable. God promised Abraham 
the land of Canaan, but he went up and down in it for 
many years as a stranger. His posterity went into 
Egypt and there, under the lash of the taskmaster, they 
waited, waited, waited. Did not they have God's prom- 
ise? Had he not said that that goodly land should 
be theirs? Why did he wait so long? Was this the 
way that he fulfilled his promise? Had he forgotten 
them? Did their cries to him fall on deaf ears? Their 
waiting was not easy. It was long and oh, how weari- 
some! Why did God wait so long, was there any ade- 
quate reason? Yes, when God waits there is always a 
good reason for the waiting. His acts are not arbitrary ; 
he does not act according to caprice; he acts wisely and 
when it is best. He tells us why he delayed in this case ; 
it was because the sins of the Canaanites had not yet 
come to the full. When they reached that point, the 
Lord fulfilled his promise and led the children of Israel 
out of their bondage into that goodly land. 

Have you learned this lesson of waiting upon the 
Lord? Can you commit your ways to him and feel 



WAITING ON THE LORD 123 

that if desire is still unsatisfied, if obstacles are not 
yet removed, if trials yet bear upon you, the Father- 
love is not growing cold, nor his hearing dull, nor has 
he forgotten? In the proper time) and way the answer 
will be sure, and because of the delay the answer will 
be fuller and will enrich you more than if it had come 
when first you asked. Wait patiently on the Lord, trust 
also in him, be not weary in well-doing, and out of your 
waiting will come strength, and out of your sorrow will 
come rejoicing, and out of the bitterness will come 
sweetness, and at the end of the way you will find a 
crown and life everlasting. 



124 HEART TALKS 



TALK TWENTY-THREE 
THREE NECESSARY "RATIONS" 

The soul, like the body, must have something to nour- 
ish and strengthen it, to give it vigor and vitality. An 
army will have neither the strength nor the courage to 
fight unless it has its rations. And if I may be allowed 
a play on words, I may say that there are three rations 
which are very needful to every Christian. Without 
these he must be weak and faltering and of little service, 
but with them he may be a pillar of strength in the 
temple of God. 

The first of these "rations" is aspiration, or ardent 
desire. Strong desire is one of the greatest incentives 
of life. To be contented as we are is one of the most 
fatal hindrances to progress and activity. There is noth- 
ing to stir us to action when desire is satisfied. The 
trouble with a great multitude of people is that they 
are satisfied when conditions do not warrant it. If we 
are to make progress in the Christian life or accomplish 
anything for God, we must have strong aspirations. 
These are as a spur to our energies. Aspiration is the 
cure for being ' ' at ease in Zion. ' ' Aspirations are good 
or bad according to the motive that prompts them. Some 
are essentially selfish, and such are necessarily evil. If 
we desire to be or do for selfish advantage, for glory 
and praise; if we aspire to be leaders, as so many re- 
ligious people do, only that they may have authority 
or honor — our aspirations are evil. But each one of us 



THREE NECESSARY " RATIONS" 125 

owes it to himself and to God to desire strongly to be 
and to do his best for God. 

What is the temperature of your spiritual aspirations 
today? Are you so well satisfied that desire is cold and 
almost lifeless? or are you reaching out to the things 
that are before with an eager yearning? No matter 
how good or how holy you may be, if you look Christ- 
ward until you see the depths of his submission to the 
Father, the length of his love for souls, the heights of 
his lofty purity and unworldliness, the tenderness of 
his sympathy, the richness of his communion with the 
Father, his self-abnegation, his humility, and his un- 
swerving faithfulness, your soul will feel itself so im- 
measurably beneath Christ that you can not help longing 
to be more like him. It will create in your soul an in- 
expressible aspiration to draw further away from this 
old world with its trifles and its follies and to draw 
nearer to Christ, to be more like him in your inner life, 
and to act more like him in your outward life. If you 
look only at self and self-interest, your spiritual aspira- 
tions will fade away; but as you look away from self 
and behold Him who is altogether lovely, the more you 
look upon him the greater will be your desire to be 
conformed to his likeness and submitted to his will. 

Each of us ought to desire to be our best for God. 
Do not be content to be one of the "weak ones," or even 
an average Christian. Those souls who rise above the 
average, those who are bright lights in their communi- 
ties, are not the ones who are easily satisfied with their 
attainments, nor are they the ones who are willing to 
be this year as they were last year or the year before. 



126 HEART TALKS 

You, as well as any one else, can be a bright light if 
you will. You can be spiritual if you will. It is not a 
question of God's blessing some more than others; it is 
a question of desire that spurs to active effort to be- 
come spiritual. 

There is much work to be done, and you have a part 
in that work. How great that part may be depends 
more upon your desire to work than upon anything 
else. Are you, like many professed Christians, willing 
enough for others to work and willing to be idle your- 
self ? If you really want to do something for the king- 
dom, there is something that you can do. If you are 
willing to do anything, no matter what, God will see 
that you have something to do. No matter how small 
your task is, it is worth doing well. Look upon the 
fields, not those afar off, but those about you. All 
around you are souls going to destruction. Forget your 
own concern. Look at the needs about you till your 
heart is filled with desire for these souls, till you covet 
them for the Master as a miser covets gold. Then you 
will find work enough to do and strength to do it. 

The second "ration" is inspiration. There is so much 
half-hearted work, so much done mechanically, so much 
form in worship and service. What we need is enthusi- 
asm. We hear much about artistic inspiration and 
poetic inspiration, but what we really need most of all 
is spiritual inspiration. Religious forms are cold and 
dead until there is put into them the warmth of en- 
thusiasm. Get your soul filled with this glowing warmth. 
It will lighten your tasks. It will bring success instead 
of failure. It will be a well-spring of joy. It will make 



THBBE NECESSARY "RATIONS" 127 

an optimist of you. It will help you break down bar- 
riers. It will enable you to surmount obstacles. It will 
put the shout of victory in your soul in the very face of 
your foes. An enthusiastic man is a victorious man. 
An enthusiastic church is a victorious church. En- 
thusiastic work and worship are filled with a vitality 
that makes them worth while. 

Do not be content to be a formalist. Throw yourself 
into your work. Go at things as though you meant 
business. Do not be a lazy Christian. An indolent 
way of doing things can be neither joyful nor successful. 
The more of your heart you put into your work, the 
more it will mean to you, and the more it means to you, 
the more you can accomplish. Have confidence that 
you will succeed, for confidence will help you attain to 
your desires. Your energy wisely directed has in it 
the very element of success. Look at what others are 
accomplishing by hard work and perseverance. The 
same qualities in you will win. But keep this one thing 
in view, that without inspiration or enthusiasm you lack 
much of the winning quality. Cultivate enthusiasm. Do 
with your might what your hands find to do. 

The third "ration" needful is consideration. This 
serves as a balance for the two former rations. Its 
absence has caused disaster many times. Many people 
grow very enthusiastic and aspire to great things, but 
because they lack consideration they run into wild fa- 
naticism and go to great extremes ; and as a result both 
they and their religion lose the respect and confidence 
of the people. How especially true this is in some of 
the modern holiness movements! Their adherents give 



128 HEART TALKS 

themselves over to unseemly demonstrations, ignore good 
judgment, and teach things and do things they would 
not if they stopped to carefully consider them. 

Salvation and all that pertains to it stand on the foun- 
dation of wisdom and good sense. Anything that is 
not according to these is out of harmony with the true 
principles of religion. So we should weigh our every 
act and all our teachings in the balance of good judg- 
ment. What in our lives or teaching does not appeal to 
the sound judgment and good sense of others had better 
be rejected. Genuine holiness, because of its reason- 
ableness, appeals to the intellect and heart of every 
man. Extremism and fanaticism are not part of true 
religion. Throw plenty of enthusiasm into your work, 
but see to it that that enthusiasm is held in proper 
channels by consideration. Do not let it overflow with- 
out bounds. It is sure to run in the wrong direction 
if you do. 

God has given us the power of consideration and un- 
derstanding to control and guide our energies. By 
means of these faculties we get the highest and best use 
of our powers. To act without consideration is very 
often to act wrongly. God's acts are always wise, and 
to be godlike means for us to use what wisdom he gives 
to us. 

Let us be sure that we have these three needful " ra- 
tions" and that we make the use of them that God has 
designed. We shall then be successful Christians and 
accomplish the work that it pleases God for us to do. 
Aspire to be and do your best. Throw your soul into 
whatever you undertake. Be careful and considerate 



THREE NECESSARY "RATIONS" 129 

in all your ways, so that you "shall neither be barren 
nor unfruitful/' but that you "shall be like a tree 
planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his 
fruit in his season." 



130 HEART TALKS 

TALK TWENTY-FOUR 
A RETREAT, OR A ROUT? 

Armies often suffer defeat, but there is a great differ- 
ence in the way they take defeat. Sometimes an army 
is overcome and driven out of its position, but retreats 
only as far as it must, then turns again upon the foe 
to courageously renew the conflict. Other armies have 
been defeated, and in a panic have thrown away their 
weapons and fled in disorder. The first, though de- 
feated, retains its honor, while the others have nothing 
but shame. 

Similar things are seen in individual lives. There are 
those who suffer temporary defeat, but who count it only 
temporary and set themselves immediately to the task 
of gathering together their forces and retrieving what 
they have lost. Others, when they realize a defeat, 
give up all as lost, throw down their weapons, and cease 
to fight. They forsake the ranks of God's people, some- 
times for a very trifling reason, and go back into the 
world and suffer the shame that attaches to a backslider. 
The serious part of this is that many can do such a 
thing and consider it a rather light matter. Instead 
of being a light matter, turning away from God is one 
of the most terrible things that a soul can do and one 
which is often fraught with the direst results and would 
be every time were it not for the exceeding mercy of 
God. How it is that one who has ever truly loved God 
can turn away from him and plunge again into the follies 
of the world, doing those thipgs ^vhich he knows God 



A RETREAT, OR A ROUT 131 

abhors, is more than I can understand. Sometimes those 
who once seemed to be quite spiritual are now among 
the most wicked, even worse than before they ever made 
a profession. 

In one of the Southern States lived a lady who had 
at different times professed to be saved, but as often 
backslid. Her daughter, while conversing with me one 
day, said, ' ' When Mother goes back, she goes full length 
to the world." She went on to tell me that when her 
mother gave up her profession she at once laid aside 
her plain attire and decked herself in jewelry and gay 
clothing and began attending worldly places of amuse- 
ment. She seemed to think that when she no longer 
claimed to be saved she could cast off all restraint and 
ignore God's claims upon her entirely, and that it did 
not matter what she did now. Her excuse was, "Oh, I 
am not saved now." Just as though that changed in 
any degree her solemn responsibility to obey God! 

I was talking with a man who had been a preacher. 
I spoke to him about something that had happened in 
his life on a certain occasion. He had been guilty of 
immoral conduct. He acknowledged it with apparently 
no sense of shame, saying, "Oh, I was not professing 
then." He acted as though he thought his past conduct 
made no difference in respect to his present standing 
or influence. Some people seem to think that back- 
sliding gives them some sort of indulgence or license 
to act as they please. Such a view is equally dishonor- 
ing to God and to themselves. Sin makes a stain that 
never can be eradicated. Do not forget this. I make 
the statement advisedly. I am aware that many persons 



132 HEART TALKS 

do not view it thus, but it is only because they do not 
consider the question as it should be considered. Even 
the blood of Christ, all-powerful as it is, is not sufficient. 
This is not heresy; it is solemn truth, and, reader, the 
sooner you find it out the better. It may make the 
matter of sin appear more serious to you. The blood 
of Christ will wash away the guilt of our sins, if we 
truly repent and believe, and our hearts may be made 
as pure as though we had never sinned; but the stain 
of it lies ever upon our memory, and its somber shadow 
lies upon our life whenever memory calls it to view. Xo 
doubt that shadow will be as eternal as our souls. 

Its stain also lies upon our reputation. Men do not 
forget such things. If you backslide and go into sin, 
you may obtain salvation again through the forbearance 
of God, but you can not get away from the stigma of 
your backsliding. The sins you committed may be 
forgiven by the saints, for "charity shall cover a mul- 
titude of sins," but the world neither forgets nor for- 
gives. The preacher who, after he has preached to oth- 
ers to live right, goes into sin, can not expect repentance 
to put him back where he was before, except in the 
mercy of God. He will have his sin to live down. His 
words will have lost their power. His influence will 
have greatly suffered. 

This is true of others as well as of preachers. David 
was a man of God; he sinned, and to this day men 
despise him for it. The skeptic and the infidel cease 
not to point to the sad spectacle. The one sin of Peter 
in denying his Lord stands out today as a dark stain 
upon his life. my friend, if you have been defeated 



A RETREAT, OR A ROUT 133 

in your Christian life, if you have lost the saicred 
treasure of salvation from your heart, I adjure you to- 
day that you do not throw away everything, but value 
at their true worth the; things that remain to you, and 
hold them fast. In your righteous life you formed 
many good habits; do not turn away from them, hold 
fast to them. You had a thankful and appreciative 
heart toward God; do not become hard and thankless. 
You had a reverence for holy things; do not let it go. 
You had a desire to please God; keep that desire still 
warm in your bosom. Keep your face turned Godward, 
not worldward, and make your way back to him at once. 

Sometimes people sin against God, then immediately 
cease their profession and just drift along day after 
day, making no effort to obtain forgiveness. They 
think they will "get saved again" when some evan- 
gelist comes to hold a revival. We often see reports of 
meetings saying that so many "backsliders were re- 
claimed. " This expression tells a sad story of such 
careless living before God that it makes one's heart sad 
to contemplate it. If Satan gets advantage of you, or 
your foot slips in your upward climb, do not let go all 
holds and go clear to the bottom into the pit of sin, 
there to lie carelessly; do not lose an inch more than 
you can help losing. If you have sinned, resolutely de- 
termine that you will not add to it another sin. Repent 
of the one committed and press your way right back to 
God; do not wait for some preacher; do not wait for 
anything; return to God. To drift along and wait is 
folly. It is giving Satan all the chance he needs. 

One of the most hurtful ideas existing among us toda\ 



134 HEART TALKS 

is, that one sin puts a man back in the same place where 
he was before he was saved. Nothing could be more 
false; nothing could more obscure what salvation has 
done for him. Nothing could tend more to make him 
indifferent and careless. I want to oppose that idea 
with all my strength, for it is Satan's lie. When a man 
sins he becomes guilty, but the good character that has 
been built up, the pure feelings and desires, the right 
habits of thought and action, the Christian point of view 
to which he has attained — these are all a wealth that he 
still possesses. They are something of exceeding value, 
which in a large measure still remain in his possession. 
They are, however, in serious danger. If he persists in 
sin, he will lose them all; but if he recovers himself in 
time, he will save them. 

I offer no excuse for sin ; it is terrible, and how quickly 
its deadly infection spreads through all the being ! Fear 
it as you would fear a plague. If you have sinned, make 
your way back to God at once before that sin shall "in- 
crease to more ungodliness.' ' If you are a backslider, 
do not think that it does not matter what you do; for 
it does matter greatly. Do not add sin to sin, increas- 
ing your guilt; but let the fear of God be upon your 
heart. If you are overcome, do not let yourself be 
routed. Do not throw away your weapons in a panic, 
but turn again and face the foe and fight him until the 
victory comes, until you regain what you have lost, un- 
til you stand "more than conqueror through him that 
loved us." 



MY DREAM MESSAGE 135 

TALK TWENTY-FIVE 
MY DREAM MESSAGE 

Solomon says that dreams come "through the multi- 
tude of business. " Our night thoughts are like our 
day thoughts, except that our faculties being partly 
asleep, our dreams usually lack the coherence and the 
reasonableness of our waking thoughts. God does oc- 
casionally, at rare intervals, operate upon men's minds 
to cause them to dream something ; but even the prophets 
with whom he thus communicated more than with or- 
dinary men received such messages only now and then, 
and their other dreams had no significance. 

Many people are always trying to find some hidden 
meaning in their dreams. If they have some peculiar 
dream, they try to interpret it or to get somebody else 
to do so. Now, God is reasonable. He knows that we 
can better comprehend when we are awake than when 
we are asleep ; so he usually communicates with us dur- 
ing our waking hours. We sometimes have very striking 
dreams, but this does not signify that the Lord originated 
them. I have known people to act very unwisely as the 
result of following dreams. One night a preacher, who 
was holding a series of meetings, dreamed of having a 
terrible fight with a great snake. When he awoke, he 
felt that surely the Lord was trying to show him some- 
thing. He interpreted the dream to mean that somebody 
in the congregation was represented by that snake. The 
next day he told his dream in the meeting and said that 
he thought he knew who the snake was. He began act- 



136 HEART TALKS 

ing upon his supposition. The result was that at least 
two of the congregation backslid over it, and the whole 
church was thrown into confusion. 

A dream is a dream, and possibly not more than one 
in ten thousand come from God. There are times, how- 
ever, when we may learn good lessons from our dream 
thoughts as well as from our waking thoughts. One such 
dream I once had, and the lesson I derived from it has 
been good for my soul. I dreamed that I stood beside 
a gigantic wild rosebush. In my hand I held one of 
the beautiful fragrant flowers. I looked at it and drank 
in its rich perfume, but I saw a great number of flowers, 
and I desired more than the one, so I held it in my 
left hand and began to reach up for others. They were 
very high, so I pressed against the outer limbs and 
stretched to my utmost, but they were too high ; I could 
not get them. I stepped back from the bush. As I did 
so. my gaze fell upon the rose in my hand just in time 
to see its petals fall to the ground. In stretching for 
those beyond my reach, I had ruined the one that was 
already mine. I gazed upon the empty stem in my 
hand and at the bruised petals upon the ground with 
a feeling of regret. 

The scene changed. I sat at a desk with pencil and 
paper, and in my dream wrote these words: "If you 
have but one rose, enjoy it to the full. Do not let its 
perfume be wasted upon the empty air. and its beauty 
go unnoticed, while you spend your time in vain long 
ing for the unattainable.' ? When I awoke I wrote down 
the words that I had written in my dream, and through 
the years they have preached to me many a sermon. 



MY DREAM MESSAGE 137 

How natural it is for us to forget what we have while 
we look at others whom we think to be more fortunate ! 
We look at the blessings that others enjoy and forget 
to be thankful for our own. We look at others' pos- 
sessions, and because they are greater than ours, we fail 
to appreciate what we have. Our position in life may 
be very humble, but however humble, our life is full 
of blessings if we but have eyes to see them. 

When I had this dream, my health was gone, and I lay 
alone in my bed throughout the long hours of the day 
while my wife was away working for our support. My 
eyes were so I could read but a very little. We had two 
rooms in a house with another family. All around us 
were people with health and plenty. I could easily 
realize the difference between my situation and theirs. 
Sometimes I would look out of the window and see peo- 
ple passing, strong and vigorous and care-free. I would 
hear the gay laughter and the sound of happy voices, 
while I — there I lay suffering and alone. How easy it 
was to see their blessings ! and in seeing theirs, how easy 
it was to forget my own! 

But this dream came upon the morning of my birth 
day; and as I lay there thinking it over, I determined 
that in the coming year I would not let my one rose be 
spoiled because I was reaching for that which was be- 
yond my reach. I decided to enjoy my own blessing's. 
If others were more blessed than I, should I not rejoice 
in the fact ? Longing to be like them would not make me 
so. If I had but little to enjoy, I would enjoy that little. 
So I began to look at my blessings, and as I looked them 
over I found them greater than I had supposed. I had 



138 HEART TALKS 

many things to give me comfort. I had food to satisfy 
my hunger. I had a home and clothing. I had the 
loving care of a faithful wife. I had kind friends who 
gave to me freely of their sympathy and who were ready 
to grant my every wish so far as it lay in their power. 
Better than all else, I had the peace of God in my heart. 
I began to realize that my state might be far worse. 

The more I thought, the more I saw for which to be 
thankful. The more I considered my blessings, the more 
I appreciated them. And many a time since have I. 
looked out upon the passers-by or listened to their mer- 
riment, and have said to myself, "I would not exchange 
places with you ; for I am saved ; I have the treasure of 
God's love; I have the presence of the Holy Spirit; I 
have the joys of salvation ; I have a mansion in heaven. ' ' 
I knew that most of the passers-by did not have these 
things, and so I was blessed more than they. What were 
health and strength when put to a wrong use? What 
were temporal blessings that ministered only to selfish- 
ness? What were the joy and gaiety that ignored God? 
What were the pleasures of sin, when they only laid 
up a harvest of sorrow ? Ah no, I had no reason to envy 
them, for my blessings were greater and would not fade 
away like mist before the sun. 

My brother, my sister, you may be happy in your own 
little corner if you will learn the lesson of enjoying what 
you have. Learn to be content with common things. 
Learn that the truest joy does not come from external 
things. It springs spontaneously from a contented 
heart. If God wills that you be situated as you are, will 
he not make you happy where you are ? The Bible says, 



MY DREAM MESSAGE 139 

"Godliness with contentment is great gain . . . Having 
food and raiment let us be therewith, content " (1 Tim. 
6 : 6-8). Yon may not have much of this world's goods; 
you may not have many talents ; your blessings may seem 
few; but remember my dream message — "If you have 
but one rose, enjoy it to the full." If another has both 
hands filled, he may enjoy them less than you enjoy your 
one, unless you look with envious eyes. Sometimes a lit- 
tle perfume is sweeter than an abundance. Do not 
spend your days in vain longing. Do not despise what 
you have because it is not greater. Cultivate the habit 
of thankfulness and appreciation. Be glad for what 
you have. Be contented. Better your condition if you 
can, but do not spoil what you have in reaching for 
more. If you have but one talent, use it for the Lord 
and be thankful for it. Do not depreciate it because 
others have several talents. Use it and be content. 
Happiness consists not in the things we have, but in our 
appreciation and use of them. So enjoy your one rose. 
Drink in its sweet perfume; gaze upon its beauteous 
colors. Enjoy it to the full. 



140 HEART TALKS 



TALK TWEXTY-SIX 
WHEN GOD WITHDRAWS HIMSELF 

A mother sat quietly in her easy chair. Upon the 
floor near her was her little one playing — piling his 
blocks one upon another, then throwing them down and 
laughing in childish glee. He was all absorbed in his 
play. The mother gazed upon him with her eyes beam- 
ing. Presently she began to call him, "Baby, come to 
Mama ! Baby, Baby, come to Mama ! ' ' but he played on 
unheeding. Again she called, but he paid no attention ; 
his mind was occupied with his own affairs. 

Presently the mother quietly slipped from her chair 
and went into an adjoining room, out of the baby's 
sight. He did not notice her go. He supposed that she 
was right there and that he could go to her at any time ; 
but happening to glance up from his play, he saw that 
the chair was empty. The laughter ceased at once, and 
a cloud came over his features ; he turned and looked all 
around the room, but his mama was not in sight. He 
saw only a stranger sitting in an easy chair. A pang 
of startled fear passed through him, and he began to 
cry and call very earnestly, in his baby way, for his 
mama. 

It brought a quick response. The mother, leaving her 
concealment, rushed to him quickly, picked him up, and 
hugged him tightly to her bosom. His chubby baby arms 
were clasped about her neck as though he would never let 
her go- Soon the tears were gone and the baby's face 



WHEN GOD WITHDRAWS HIMSELF 141 

lay against that of the mother, while the joy of the 
mother-heart caused the eyes to shine like stars. 

Now, the mother did not go away from the child be- 
cause she did not love it, or because she thought that 
it did not love her ; but she wanted to draw its attention 
away from its little concerns to herself. She wanted to 
show her affection for it and to receive its baby caresses 
in return. 

Like that little one, we sometimes become so absorbed 
in our own pleasures, our work, or some little personal 
interest, that God can not attract our attention. His 
father-heart yearns for a season of communion with us. 
He wants to show his love to us and receive, in turn, 
our love and communion. But we do not heed him ; we 
are too busy with other things; and so he quietly with- 
draws himself, and we become aware that we are alone. 
With that presence gone, how lonely we feel ! How dark 
the world suddenly grows ! How quickly we lose interest 
in the things that held our attention before ! How we 
yearn for his presence again ! how our hearts reach out 
for him! how our tears start! We think, "What have 
we done that caused him to leave us? have we grieved 
away his Spirit? have we sinned against him?" But 
ah ! he is not gone far ; he is just beyond our vision. He 
is watching; he is waiting for our hearts to be drawn 
back to himself. 

The mother would not have left her child if by leav- 
ing she would have placed him in danger. She did not 
mean to stay away. So God knows that to leave us thus 
is not to expose us to danger. He is watching, waiting 
anxiously the moment when he may return; and ah! 



142 HEART TALKS 

when he does return and takes us in his bosom, what 
words of comfort he speaks! what tender affection he 
shows! and how our hearts are melted and poured out 
in thanksgiving and adoration before him! If God 
apparently withdraws from us, it is only because he 
sees that we need to be left alone for a season. He sees 
that the heart must be drawn away from selfish interest ■ 
and when this is accomplished, he comes back and re- 
veals to us anew the fulness and richness of his love. 



WHAT HAPPENED TO SOLOMON 143 

TALK TWENTY-SEVEN 
WHAT HAPPENED TO SOLOMON 

In his early manhood Solomon was noted for his deep 
piety and his fervent love of righteousness. When he 
became king, he found a great work ready for his hand, 
and he set about the task with a glad heart. To build 
a temple to Jehovah was his delight, and he threw into 
it his whole strength. His prayer at the dedication of 
the temple shows a deeply reverent and submissive 
spirit. 

As the years went by he increased in riches and honor. 
His name became a synonym for wisdom. Many nations 
paid him tribute. Bkit notwithstanding all these things, 
his heart held true to God. During these years he had, 
I suppose, no thought but that he should continue thus 
until the end, that he should live his life out as a true 
servant of Jehovah, and that his life's sun would go 
down in a blaze of glory. But alas ! it was not so to be. 
We who know his history know the dark shadow that 
came over his life. We know how its radiance faded 
away into the night. We shall do well to analyze the 
things that led to his downfall. 

There was no change in Jehovah. There was no 
change in Solomon 's duty toward him. The change that 
led to the disaster was in Solomon himself. For political 
reasons Solomon married princesses of the royal houses 
round about him. These women were idolaters. Jeho- 
vah they regarded as only the national God of the He- 
brews. They still clung to their old religions, and wor- 



144 HEART TALKS 

shiped the gods of their nations. Their feelings and 
sentiments were all in favor of idolatrous worship. These 
influences Solomon withstood for a long time. His heart 
held true to God ; but these influences kept on working. 
He was in daily contact with them, and little by little 
they gained a hold upon him; consequently we read, 
"It came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives 
turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart 
was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart 
of David his father" (1 Kings 11:4). As a result, the 
man who had been so honored by God and who had so 
honored God became an idolater and put his Lord to an 
open shame and drew away into the same net of idola- 
try many of his people. 

What a lesson there is in this for us ! What a warn- 
ing is there in his example ! When young Christians 
marry sinners in these days, the final result is generally 
pretty much the same as it was with Solomon. But it 
is not only through such marriages that hearts are turned 
away from the Lord: there are many other things that 
will influence us likewise if we are not careful. We are 
strongly influenced by the actions of others. That in- 
fluence is constantly working, whether we are conscious 
of it or not. In the life of Joash we see an example of 
the power of influence. He was brought up by Jehoiada, 
the high priest, who was a man that feared God; and 
as a result of the influence brought to bear upon the 
young king, he grew up to be a man who feared God, 
and who, during the lifetime of Jehoiada, did that which 
was right and good in the sight of the Lord. He was 
a good king as long as he had a good teacher and was 



WHAT HAPPENED TO SOLOMON 145 

under proper influence; but at last Jehoiada died, and 
other influences were brought to bear upon the king. 
He yielded to them; and instead of continuing to be a 
godly king, he became a wicked one. Thus, his life ex- 
perience is parallel to that of Solomon. They were 
glorious in their youth and young manhood; but in 
their old days they dishonored their God and themselves, 
and in consequence their sun went down in darkness, 
and their lives were blighted and sullied. 

With these two examples before us, we shall do well 
to give heed to the scripture that says, "Let him that 
thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." When we 
are serving the Lord, it is natural for us to suppose that 
we shall go right on to the end. We do not think that 
we shall yield to any influence that will draw us away 
from the Lord. But alas, how many, like Solomon, are 
having their hearts turned away by the influences that 
are brought to bear upon them ! Solomon himself said, 
"Keep thy heart with all diligence," but he failed to 
do this. The silent and subtile workings of those evil 
influences wrought in his heart something that he did 
not know was taking place. He did not realize that he 
was being alienated from God; but presently his love 
had waxed cold, his zeal had abated. To him the God of 
Israel became only as one of the other gods. 

There are influences brought to bear upon you each 
day and each hour, my brother, my sister. Do you 
know what these influences are? Do you know how 
they are working? Do you know what effect they are 
having upon your heart and your life? upon your 
thoughts and your soul's attitude? Are you diligently 



146 HEART TALKS 

guarding yourself against every evil influence? Look 
into your life and see if there is any evil influence to 
which you have been gradually and unconsciously yield- 
ing. Has the world been getting closer to you through 
the years? Has it more attraction for you than it had 
in the days gone by? Do its pride and vanity, its 
frivolity and ungodliness, seem less obnoxious to you 
than it has heretofore? Does sin seem a lighter thing 
to you than it used to? Does the Word of God take 
less hold upon your conscience now than formerly? Is 
the voice of duty speaking in your soul in the same 
clear terms as before ? and does it find your soul as ready 
to respond? Are the service and worship of God still 
so sweet and satisfying? Is it your delight to give of 
your substance for the spread of the gospel? or has 
covetousness, little by little, been working into your 
heart until it has taken root there? Do you love ma- 
terial things less or more than formerly? Is your con- 
secration just as real and just as complete as it was? 
If you are coming short in any of these things, what 
has been the influence that has worked to bring it about ? 
Make a good, careful examination of the situation. If 
you have been drifting, beware lest your heart be en- 
tirely turned away from the Lord. Find out what in- 
fluences are working. Watch and defend your heart 
against them; overcome their influences; counteract 
their powers; stand for God. It is only in this way 
that you can serve him to the end faithfully, and that 
you can be triumphant when the call comes for you to 
stand before his presence. 



THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH 147 

TALK TWENTY-EIGHT 
FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH 

Paul said, ' ' Fight the good fight of faith. ' ' This world 
is a battle-ground of spiritual forces. If we are spiritual 
beings, it is impossible that we should hold ourselves 
neutral and stand apart from those forces that are in 
conflict. "We must stand on one side or the other of the 
battle array. Jesus has said, ' ' He that is not with me is 
against me." Since we must be in the conflict whether 
we will to be or not, it behooves us to be on the right 
side. When we know that we are on the right side, then 
the thing of greatest importance to us is the method of 
our warfare. Since we wrestle not against flesh and 
blood, but against the principalities and powers of evil, 
it is not strange that our weapons should be "not carnal " 
weapons, which are effective against material foes, but 
those spiritual weapons that are ' ' mighty through God. ' ' 

One great outstanding fact in this battle of life is 
that it is necessarily a battle of faith. As I observe some 
people's methods of trying to fight this Christian war- 
fare, it seems to me that they are rather fighting the 
fight of unbelief, or of doubts. Instead of being con- 
fident with the confidence that true faith gives, they 
are all the time fearful. They are never certain they 
are going to win. They are never certain that their 
methods are going to prevail. They are always trem- 
bling and uncertain. When they do gain a victory, it 
seems more like a piece of good fortune than the result 
of their fighting. When they see a conflict coming, they 



US HEART TALKS 

shrink from it and look for some way to evade it. They 
are filled with fear of the outcome. Sometimes they fight 
in desperation and win; and when they see that they 
have won, they are surprized. They were almost sure 
that they would lose the battle; they were almost cer- 
tain of defeat, but in some way they won. That victory, 
however, does not give them much courage to meet the 
next conflict. They meet it with the same fearfulness, 
with the same unbelief, with the same doubt. There is 
not the joyful note of victory in their song. They do not 
face the future with confident expectation of winning, 
They are continually harassed with their doubts; they 
are constantly troubled with forebodings. It is better 
to fight thus than not to fight at all, but there is a better 
way than this to fight. 

Faith is the mightiest of all weapons. When our 
spirits are armed with faith, we may go confidently into 
any battle. We may have expectation of winning. We 
may know before we fight that victory is ours. We may 
face our adversary with calm confidence and with a 
consciousness of an indwelling power that is greater 
than his power. Has not God said, ' ' Greater is he that is 
in you, than he that is in the world"? If our faith 
claims that to be so, then God will make it so to us. 

We must have faith in God. He is our leader. The 
army that does not have confidence in the ability and 
courage of its leader is half defeated before it goes into 
battle. Most of us, I think 7 have confidence in God's 
ability as a leader, and in his power and wisdom, and 
believe that he is able to overcome our foes. It is not 
his ability that we doubt. The only question that con- 



THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH 149 

fronts us is, "Will he use that power to conquer our 
enemies?" We see that he has made many promises. 
It is easy to believe, in a general way, that they will be 
fulfilled ; but when it comes to making direct applications 
to the situations that we meet, it is there that faith some- 
times fails. Will God fight for us on this special occa- 
sion ? Will God help us now ? Will he really make good 
his word to us ? or will he fail us in the critical moment ? 

If God's promises are true, then the ones that relate 
to our particular needs are true, and they are true now. 
If they are true to others, they are true to us, for God is 
no respecter of persons. And if they are true to us, 
they are true to us now as well as they were yesterday 
or will be tomorrow. It is so easy to think that God 
would help others. They are more worthy than we are. 
Do you feel this way? Do you feel that if it were some- 
body else in your place, you could easily have faith that 
God would help? Then, why not have faith that God 
will help you? 

This brings us to the next important thought: We 
must have faith in ourselves as well as in God. We must 
have faith in our integrity and loyalty. Do we mean 
real business for God? Have we thrown ourselves un- 
reservedly on the side of God in this battle? Do we 
intend with all our souls to fight the good fight of faith ? 
Do we have it really settled that we are going to do the 
right? So many want to do the right, but they are 
not sure that they will do it. They mean to do it, but 
they are constantly afraid that they will fail in doing it. 
This is not faith. Have confidence in yourself; not only 
in your loyalty and integrity and purpose to serve God, 



150 HEART TALKS 

but also in your ability to do it. You can do it. You can 
do it as well as any one else. That doubt and fearfulness 
that you have will only be a hindrance to you. Get rid 
of it. Develop confidence in yourself — not overconfi- 
dence that depends upon yourself, but that true con- 
fidence that depends upon God helping you and that 
arms you with courage and trust in God and in yourself. 
You must also have confidence in your weapons. Our 
weapons are "mighty through God," we are told. God 
has told you how to win; and just as surely as you fol- 
low his instructions and trust in him for results, he will 
cause you to wear the victor's crown. Our cause is a 
righteous one. Have faith in that cause, and know that 
right must triumph. But remember that you can not 
win unless you put your faith into your fighting. ' ' This 
is the victory that overcometh the world, even your 
faith.' ' Believe that you will win. No matter how weak 
you are, no matter how great your foe, no matter what 
may confront you, go into the conflict with that courage 
that is born of faith. Believe that God will give you the 
victory. Do not consider defeat at all. Let your faith 
mount up, and say : "I can win, and I will win. In God 
I will conquer." Throw away your doubts. Make an 
end of them. Trust in God. His Word is true. You 
can believe it if you will, and believing it, you shall be 
more than conqueror through him that loves you. 



HOW ARE YOUR EAR CONNECTIONS 151 

TAUK TWENTY-NINE 
HOW ARE YOUR EAR CONNECTIONS? 

A telephone must be properly connected with where 
the person is to whom we wish to communicate, or it will 
be of no value to us. If the connection is broken, or the 
receiver out of order, it will be useless for us to talk 
into the transmitter: the person at the other end will 
hear none of our words. We may speak just the same 
as though he were hearing 1 , but nothing will be accom- 
plished. There must be a proper connection : there must 
be a responsive vibration at the other end of the wire. 

It is just so in spiritual things. One of the most 
important things is to have our ears properly connected 
with our hearts. We have often heard the expression, 
"It just went in at one ear and out at the other." By 
this is meant that the one who heard gave no heed. How 
often this occurs in regard to the things of God ! 

When it comes to gossip and idle tales and foolish con- 
versation and things of that sort, we ought to let such 
go "in at one ear and out at the other"; we should be 
very careful that they find no lodging-place in our hearts. 
That is the only safe way for our souls. But too often 
these things are given a place in the heart and mind: 
there is too good a connection, and many times there 
is only too ready a response in the heart for such things. 
That is why some people can never keep spiritual, and 
are always lagging behind others, People who have 
such a good connection and responsiveness in their hearts 
on these lines usually have very poor connection between 



152 HEART TALKS 

their ears and their hearts when it comes to the teachings 
of the Word of God. They can hear the Word preached 
on almost any subject, and not seem to think it means 
them. They go along in their lives just as they had 
been doing before. They feel no particular responsibility 
to obey. They can go on just as if they had never heard, 
and still profess, and possibly shout occasionally. 

There were times when Israel had their connection 
broken. God said to the prophet of old, "They hear 
thy words, but they will not do them. ' ' So many times 
people say, "Was not that a good sermon today?" 
Why, yes, how they enjoyed it ! But they go their way 
and give no further heed to what was said. However, 
in the popular pulpits of today the preachers too often 
hold this attitude: "This is my opinion of things. You 
may take it or let it alone, just as you please ; you have 
a right to your own opinions about it." And there are 
a great many people who act upon this idea. They feel 
that they can take a thing or let it alone, just as they 
please — even when the words preached are the judgments 
of God. Many hold that attitude not only toward 
preaching but toward the Bible also. They read, or hear 
read, what it says about worldliness, foolish actions and 
conversation, the wearing of gold for adornment; they 
read about being patient and holy and blameless, about 
not returning evil for evil, and about speaking evil of 
no man ; yet they go right on doing the things forbidden, 
just as though the Book said nothing. They do not 
take it to heart. The trouble is, the connections between 
their ears and their hearts are broken as far as these 
things of God are concerned. 



HOW ARE YOUR EAR CONNECTIONS 153 

The Bible warns us to take heed how we hear. If we 
do not treat the preaching of God's Word reverently, 
and listen with reverent hearts to his messages, it is 
because we do not reverence him. It is because in our 
hearts we are lifted up against him. That attitude of 
"I shall take or leave alone, just as I please' ' is one of 
the very worst attitudes that can be held. Not only is it 
dishonoring to God, but it is exceedingly dangerous. 

Sometimes such an attitude of heart is partly, at least, 
the result of the way the preacher preaches. If a man 
has a message from God, he has authority to preach that 
message as the word of God, and he should so preach it. 
Every true gospel preacher should be imbued with the 
feeling: "I am preaching the truth of God. It is your 
duty to hear it ; I expect you to hear it ; and hear it you 
must." Let him hold this attitude in his heart and 
mind, and then let him enforce upon his congregation by 
proper disciplinary methods the truth that he preaches. 
If the preacher feels his authority as God's spokesman as 
he ought to feel it, the people will be impressed — they 
can not help it. It is true that they may rebel, grow 
stubborn, or disobey ; they may shut his words out from 
their hearts ; but nevertheless he is clear, and they only 
increase their responsibility, of which they must give 
an account to God. Paul believed that preaching and 
teaching should be with ' ' all authority. ' ' This does not 
imply mere human rule, but divine authority — God 
speaking through the man. 

When the heart does not hear and feel, there is always 
a reason. One reason is self-will. People do not like 
to be told what to do. They like to be masters of them- 



154 HEART TALKS 

selves. God's government demands complete surrender 
of self-will and must of necessity do so. If we will be 
his servants, it is not for us to choose what our lives 
shall be, nor what we shall say, nor what we shall do. 
It is his right to command; it is our part to hear and 
to obey. To hear and then to heed just as we please is 
setting up our authority above his. The two ideas of 
service and self-will are opposed the one to the other. 
Self-will always means rebellion against God's will. 
Therefore if a person chooses what he will do, and 
leaves undone what he finds distasteful, he, and not God, 
is the master. This self-willed disposition is very notice- 
able among nominal professors of religion. They pro- 
fess to be God's servants, and yet they set their wills 
not to do certain things that they ought to do, or else 
to do certain things that they ought not to do. They 
have their minds and hearts set in the matter. When 
they hear the Word of God preached on matters pre- 
determined by them, it falls on unhearing ears. There 
is no response of the heart. 

Another reason is love of ease — indolence. People 
hear the voice of duty, but they do not respond to it 
because they do not wish to make the necessary effort. 
They do not let their hearts be pressed by a sense of 
duty on that particular point, because to obey they must 
arouse themselves from their indolent attitude. 

One symptom showing that the heart does not hear 
is unbelief. One reason why the Jews did not believe 
Christ was because their hearts were so hard, and that 
is one reason why people do not hear the gospel in these 
days. This is not confined to non-professing sinners; 



HOW ARE YOUR EAR CONNECTIONS 155 

it is a very common thing among church-members. 
Reader, how is it with you? Are you one of those 
who have the connection broken between the ears and 
the heart? or have you listening ears and a feeling 
heart? When you hear the Word of God preached on 
certain subjects, can you slight it? or does it sink deep 
into your conscience and take hold there and produce 
fruit in your life ? Are you ready to live by every word 
of God? or do you want to take only that which suits 
your views? If the latter is true in your case, you are 
in a dangerous condition. God has the word preached, 
not simply to entertain people, but that they may obey 
it. The soul who delights in God's will does not have 
to be compelled to listen, nor does he have to be com- 
pelled to obey ; he is ready both to hear and to obey. If 
there is something wrong with the connection between 
your ears and your heart, you had better get one of 
God's "trouble men" to look after it at once; or, better 
still, go direct to God and have the connection remade. 
Get your heart taught to feel as it ought to feel, and to 
respond as it ought to respond. Be not a hearer only, 
but be a doer of God's Word. 



156 HEART TALKS 

TALK THIRTY 
FRET NOT THYSELF 

To fret means to chafe, to be irritated, to be uneasy, 
to be troubled and bothered. It is just the opposite of 
peaceful, trustful rest. Jesus has promised us rest to 
our souls, and we may have this rest. We can not have 
it, however, if we give place to worrying and fretting. 
God's purpose for us is that we shall have calmness and 
soul-quietness, even in the midst of tribulation. He has 
said, ' ' My peace I give unto you. ' ' He followed this by 
saying, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it 
be fearful' ' (John 14:27). (These and all following 
quotations are from the American Standard Version.) 

It is not God's will that we be continually worrying. 
This world is full of things that are not as they ought 
to be, and if we are to be happy and peaceful we must 
adjust ourselves to circumstances and learn to be happy 
in spite of the things that are displeasing to us, that 
are not as they ought to be. We can never be amidst 
ideal conditions in this world. 

Fretting is like sand in a bearing ; it is likely to make 
all sorts of trouble. It will use up the energy that we 
ought to be using for something else; it will keep our 
physical and spiritual nerves on edge; it will spoil the 
tranquility of our lives; it will mar our peace and take 
the sweetness out of our devotions. 

Some people are always worrying about the wrong- 
doings of others. They fret and grieve, and can not 
remove the subject from their minds nor the burden 



FEET NOT THYSELF 157 

from their hearts. The Bible says, "Fret not thyself 
because of evil-doers" (Psa. 37 : 1). Many people choose 
to do wrong; many people do wrong to themselves and 
to others, including God 's people. Of course, we can not 
rejoice over this, but we should not let it spoil our own 
lives. We should not fret about it. We should have 
a proper concern for the welfare of their souls, so that 
we shall earnestly pray for them and do all in our 
power to cause them to do better, but this is very differ- 
ent from being fretful, from worrying and bothering 
ourselves continually. If we keep our eyes on the wick- 
edness of others and continually grieve over it, we shall 
have no time to be joyful ourselves, we shall have no 
time to live our life with God. 

Psalm 37 further says, "Fret not thyself because of 
him who prospereth in his way, because of the man 
who bringeth wicked devices to pass" (v. 7). What 
all of us need to learn is to let God bear his own re- 
sponsibilities. He tells us what to do in the first part 
of the verse — "Rest in Jehovah, and wait patiently for 
him." If evil-doers prosper, if they seem even more 
prosperous than the righteous, if they seem to get along 
without trouble, we should not be bothered over that. 
That is God's business. We see a great many evil 
things going on, and we should like to stop them. They 
grieve us in spirit, and this is but natural. But we 
ought not to fret ourselves over them. There is a vast 
difference between godly concern and human worry, and 
we need to learn this difference clearly. To be con- 
cerned about such things, and to pray earnestly for 
God to overcome them and put a stop to them, is all 



158 HEART TALKS 

very well; but when it comes to fretting over them 
and worrying and being bothered, this is quite another 
thing. We should never let these things mar the peace 
of our souls. God means for us to have peace and be 
thankful right here in the midst of all this wickedness. 

He tells us why we should not fret. "Fret not thy- 
self; it tendeth only to evil-doing " (v. 8). Fretfulness 
has a tendency to make us doubt God and his wisdom: 
how natural for us to think that if we had the power 
that he has we would put a stop to such things. It has 
a tendency to make us murmur and to be dissatisfied. 
It is likely to discourage us; and when we are discour- 
aged, we are likely to murmur against the way things 
appear to be going. Fretfulness is almost certain to 
take the sweetness out of our hearts and out of our 
communion with God. It will lead to a loss of spiritual- 
ity. It will rob us of spiritual tone. 

When we are fretting we may think that we are doing 
the best we can, but we are not. We may think that 
we can not help fretting, but we can. There is a way 
in which we may possess control of ourselves and cast 
the burden of the responsibility upon God, and he will 
bear it if we do thus. We have to decide that we will 
be happy no matter what happens, no matter what the 
conduct of others may be, no matter what obstacles they 
place in our way, no matter what burdens they may 
throw upon us. We will be happy anyway, because God 
has willed that we should be happy. If we see things go- 
ing wrong we should take the burden to the Lord, say- 
ing: "Lord, thou must bear the responsibility of these 
things. My shoulders were not made to bear these 



FEET NOT THYSELF 159 

burdens. They are thine. I give them over to thee. 
If anything is to be accomplished, thou must do it." 
Then we must take our hands off. We must let the thing 
go, treat it as something that is none of our business, 
and let God handle the situation. 

Again, he said, ' ' Neither be thou envious against them 
that work unrighteousness." It is so easy to look upon 
those who are rich and who are not using their money 
for God, and think, "I wish I had their money; how 
much good I might do with it!" Or perhaps when we 
see talented people of the world, we might say, "Oh, if 
I had the ability they have, I would use it for the Lord ! ' ' 
God does not want us to do this; that is, to envy them 
their riches or their talents. It is all right for us to wish 
that we had more money or greater talents to use for 
the Lord, but it is not right to be envious of others. 
Even wishing that we had more is a waste of time. 
The thing that is important is that we use what we do 
have. 

If we are given to letting ourselves worry and fret 
over things that others do toward us, it is often an in- 
centive to them to try to make us trouble. We see a 
good illustration of this in the life of Hannah. Elkanah 
had two wives. Peninnah had a number of children, 
but Hannah was childless. Peninnah took advantage of 
this to reproach Hannah, and it is said she "provoked 
her sore, to make her fret" (1 Sam. 1:6). There are 
some people who delight in twitting others about some 
fault or physical defect, or because of lack of ability or 
something of that sort. If they see that this causes us 
to fret, it only increases their desire to provoke us. Then 



160 HEART TALKS 

again, some people like to make sport of others, and 
tease them; and if they see that some one can not bear 
it well, if it frets him and worries him, this only in- 
creases their delight. I have heard such people say, 
"I just like to tease So-and-so; he can not stand it at 
all." Saints, of course, should never do such a thing 
as that: they should have more regard for the feelings 
of others. But sinners will do such things. We may 
expect it. Therefore, the thing to do is to learn not to 
fret over it, but to submit our ways to God and bear it 
patiently. 

Never allow yourself to fret over anything. Fretting 
never helps. It always hinders. Learn to commit these 
things to God. Cast your burdens upon him — and do 
not try to bear his burdens. Learn to be happy in spite 
of your difficulties. Keep your own soul-life separated 
from these troublesome things. God will help you, and 
you can make a success. He commands you not to fret, 
and he will give you grace to keep from doing it. 



BEING EASILY ENTEEATED 161 

TALK THIRTY-ONE 
BEING EASILY ENTREATED 

Not long since I saw in the report of a meeting a 
statement something like this: "The brethren were eas- 
ily entreated, and so all personal difficulties were easily 
settled/' One of the greatest problems that ministers 
meet and one that requires the most patience and wis- 
dom is the problem of settling personal difficulties. These 
difficulties are often found existing between those pro- 
fessing to be Christians. And sometimes they are very 
hard to get settled. There is just one reason for this: 
those involved are not "easy to be entreated." James 
tells us that this is a quality of that "wisdom that is 
from above." The quality of being easily entreated is 
a mark of true piety and of a Christlike spirit. Where it 
is wanting, spirituality is always below normal. It is not 
hard to settle troubles if people want to have them 
settled; for if they really want them settled, they are 
willing to settle them the right way. Peace and harmony 
mean more to them than any other consideration, except 
truth. Division and discord can not exist unless people 
are willing to have it so ; that is, unless one or both par- 
ties place a higher value upon something else than they 
do upon peace and harmony. 

Abraham is an example of a man who is easily en- 
treated. When strife arose between his herdmen and 
those of Lot, it grieved him, and he said to Lot, "Let 
there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, 
and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be 



162 HEART TALKS 

brethren" (Gen. 13:8). He therefore proposed to give 
Lot his choice of all the land and to take what was left. 

What does it mean to be easily entreated? It means 
to be kind and just and reasonable and self-sacrificing in 
one's attitude toward others. The man who possesses 
this quality habitually manifests this temper in his life. 
There are those who are very tenacious of their rights. 
They feel that people do not respect those rights as they 
should ; so when any question involving them arises, they 
feel as though they must "stand up for their rights.' ' 
They often lose sight of everything else ; kindness, mercy, 
forbearance, patience, Christlikeness — in fact, nothing 
counts but their rights. Their rights they will defend; 
and very often their rights prove to be wrongs, or in 
insisting on their rights they do that which wrongs 
others. Really spiritual people are not so particular 
and insistent concerning their rights. They would far 
rather sacrifice their rights than to contend for them, 
unless something vital is involved, which is rarely the 
case. When a spiritual man is compelled to defend his 
rights, he will do it in a meek and quiet way, a way that 
has in it nothing offensive or self-assertive. When they 
were about to scourge Paul unlawfully, his only asser- 
tion of his rights was to quietly ask, "Is it lawful for 
you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncon- 
demned?" (Acts 22: 25). But there are those who will 
not yield in the least; they know their rights, and they 
will not yield to any one ! Very often their rights would 
look quite different if such persons possessed more of 
the spirit of Christ. 

Things sometimes look very different to different peo- 



BEING EASILY ENTREATED 163 

pie, and no amount of talking and arguing- will make 
them see alike ; and the more of such there is, the further 
apart people drift. That is the reason so many church 
troubles are always being settled but are never really 
settled. The trouble is in the hearts. The members 
are not willing to be entreated. Let them get their hearts 
warm toward each other, and be filled with the spirit of 
brotherly kindness. Until such is the condition, one 
might as well try to weld two pieces of cold iron. As 
before stated, when people desire unity and harmony 
they can have it. But they must desire it enough to be 
willing to sacrifice for it all those things that prevent it. 

Another thing that hinders is self-will. So many 
people like to have their own way. If others will do their 
way, such persons can be very gracious and kind ; but if 
they do not have their way, they manifest a very differ- 
ent disposition. They are ready to "balk"; their kind- 
ness is gone; they become stubborn; if there is trouble, 
they are very slow to yield. It is very hard for them to 
submit even when they are convinced that they should 
do so. When they do seem to yield, it is often only an 
outward yielding, the heart remaining the same. How 
much trouble this self-will makes, and how different it 
is in spirit from him who said, "Not my will, but thine, 
be done"! We are commanded to submit ourselves one 
to another. When we demand that all the submission 
be on the part of the other person, it shows that we are 
self-willed, that we care more about having things go our 
way than we do about having them go right, or than 
we care to manifest a Christlike disposition. 

Still another thing that prevents our being easily 



164 HEART TALKS 

entreated is pride. A lady was recently talking with 
me about a conversation she had just had with some other 
ladies. She had been advocating a certain doctrine which 
they did not receive. In speaking of it she said : " I grew 
a little warm in, the discussion of it. I did not mean to 
let them best me." So many people have this disposi- 
tion. They will not be "bested." They will hold to 
their position even when they are in the wrong, and 
know it. If they did not take such a position, they might 
acknowledge the other to be right; but when they have 
taken the stand, they will not yield. What is the trouble ? 
Pride in the heart is the secret. This disposition always 
has its root in pride; humility never acts in this way. 
Pride keeps people from acknowledging truth; it keeps 
them from changing their attitude. Pride of opinion 
keeps them from being willing to listen patiently to 
others who differ with them. Pride is at the root of many 
church and personal troubles; pride is what they feed 
on, and the only way to cure them is to get rid of the 
pride. 

The minister who would settle such troubles has need 
to look far one or more of these three things. He may 
expect a search to disclose either selfishness, self-will, or 
pride ; for if the trouble is not easily settled, he may be 
assured that some or all of them are in the way. His 
task, then, is not so much to get at what seems to be the 
trouble, as to give attention to these underlying things 
which are the life of the trouble. No trouble is truly set- 
tled till these elements are purged out of the heart. 

brethren ! what we need in all the churches and in 
every heart is that "wisdom that is from above" (Jas. 



BEING EASILY ENTREATED 165 

3 : 17) . We are told that it is "first pure. ' ' By wisdom 
James does not here mean what we usually mean by that 
term, but in it he includes the whole of the gift of God 
that comes to us in our salvation. It is "first pure," 
then as a natural consequence of that purity it is "peace- 
able/' It loves peace; it seeks to be at peace with all. 
It is "gentle." That gentleness which w T as manifested 
in the life of Jesus reveals itself anew in the hearts of 
those who are "first pure." Love has no harsh words, 
no harsh feelings. It is full of mercy and easy to be 
entreated. Where this heavenly wisdom abides, there 
will not be a disposition to assert one's own rights, to be 
self-willed, or to hold fast to one's own ways; on the 
contrary, if its blessed presence fills our souls, we shall 
be merciful, kind, forgiving, long-suffering, pitiful, and 
we shall have the same tender feeling for our brother 
who has done us wrong as the father had for the prodigal. 
We shall be ready to run to meet him. We shall be 
ready to forget all the past. Our hearts will be filled 
with joyfulness at the expected reconciliation. breth- 
ren there is nothing needed quite so much today and 
every day as that heart-quality that makes people "easy 
to be entreated." 



166 HEART TALKS 

TALK THIRTY-TWO 
FOLLOWING "WHITHERSOEVER" 

One day as Jesus was passing along the highway, a 
man said to him, "I will follow thee whithersoever thou 
goest" (Luke 9:57). This man no doubt was greatly 
impressed by the wonderful works and noble character 
of Christ. He thought that companionship with such 
a man would be full of blessing and richness. Just to 
see and hear would be worth any man's time and ef- 
fort — to hear the gracious words that came from His 
lips would enrich mind and heart; to see the mighty 
works done would inspire. To him it seemed to be one 
of the most desirable of all things. Christ's answer 
to him, however, showed that following Him might well 
mean something more than this man had ever considered. 
His way did not always lead through pleasant places ; His 
path was not always to be rose-strewn ; not always would 
the multitude look on Him with favor. Whether this 
man followed Jesus Ave are not told, but following evi- 
dently meant more to him now than it had meant before. 

There are many today who, like that man of old, say, 
"Lord, I will follow thee," with no clear idea of what 
it means. It was not hard to follow him when the multi- 
tude shouted, "Hosanna !" and threw palm-branches be- 
fore him. It is easy for us to follow him today when 
his cause is popular, when people are proclaiming the 
truth of what we teach and approving of our service. 
It is no task to follow when it brings praise and admira- 
tion. It is no task to follow in the calm after his "Peace, 



FOLLOWING "WHITHERSOEVER" 167 

be still," on Gennesaret. Who would not follow gladly 
to the mount of transfiguration to behold his glory? 
But to follow him "whithersoever" means more than this. 

It is our privilege to share in his glory, his triumph, 
and his exaltation; but if we have a part in these, as 
true followers we must also follow him in his humilia- 
tion. Are we willing to follow him when the multitude 
laughs and mocks at him? when his cause is unpopular? 
when for praise we have reproaches ? when for smiles we 
have sneers? Then comes the test whether we will 
follow him all the way. 

On one occasion, after he had preached, the multitude 
forsook him and only the Twelve were stedfast. In 
these days many are offended at the Word. Are we 
willing to accept it all? Are we willing to listen to it 
all? Are we willing to obey it all? God wants "whith- 
ersoever" men and women, who will hear the whole 
Word, believe the whole Word, and obey the whole Word. 
If we shrink from obedience to any part, we lack just 
that much of being "whithersoever" disciples. Christ 
lived a dedicated life; he was dedicated to his Father's 
will and accomplished his work; he gave himself solely 
to this. He allowed nothing to come between him and 
the fulfilment of God's purpose. With him nothing 
counted except that he should finish his work. 

There is a purpose, a moving purpose, in every life. 
There is one thing above all other things that is the 
chief purpose of our life. In many cases that purpose 
is to please self, to follow out a course of our own choos- 
ing. The dominant purpose in the heart of every true 
follower is the same as it was in the life of Christ — to 



168 HEART TALKS 

do the will and work of the Father. He who shrinks 
from either may hesitate to call himself a true follower. 
Christ sacrificed all, even his life. A ' ' whithersoever ' ' 
follower has the same spirit of sacrifice; he will not 
withhold himself nor that which is his. The early church 
rejoiced "that they were counted worthy to suffer" for 
Christ. Let us today look into our own hearts and see 
if we are animated by the same spirit. That spirit is a 
very different spirit from that which is seen in those 
who are offended by a word or a look and who are ready 
to resent the slightest act that encroaches upon their 
rights. How empty the elaim of many who profess to 
be real followers! They follow where it pleases them, 
but as soon as something happens not to their liking, 
they are ready to draw back. 

Christ had not where to lay his head. We have no 
record that he ever owned anything save the clothes 
he wore. A "whithersoever" follower is not ashamed 
of the poor ; and if he himself is poor, he is not ashamed 
of his poverty. But Christ was not always poor. We 
read that "he became poor." He sacrificed that others 
might be enriched. The same spirit of sacrifice will make 
us wdlling to sacrifice what we have for the enrichment 
of others. If there were more "whithersoevers" among 
us, we should not hear of ministers' being kept out of 
the work through lack of support or a lack of funds to 
carry on the Lord's work. Think of a stingy "whither- 
soever"! Can you imagine such a combination? Yet 
many professed followers fail in their duty to give to 
the cause. 

Let us bring the question home to ourselves. Let us 



FOLLOWING ' ' WHITHERSOEVER ' ' 169 

examine our hearts and lives. Are we willing to follow 
Christ all the way, even when we are rejected by our 
friends and relatives, through sneers and revilings? We 
might be willing to walk on the waters with him, but 
how about Gethsemane ? We may be willing to eat of the 
loaves and fishes, but are we willing to go with him to 
the palace of the high priest? We might drink of the 
wine of Cana, but will we wear the thorns ? We would 
gladly sit with him on his throne, but will we bear 
the cross with him to Calvary ? We can easily follow him 
where the way is easy and when our emotions are ex- 
alted and our hearts full of praise, but will we follow 
him when the skies grow dark, when we are troubled, 
wheu bitter trials come, when it takes courage to face 
what is before us? Let us decide to be true when the 
way is strewn with stones or hedged with thorns, when 
the clouds hang low as well as when all is bright and 
encouraging. Let us cast away all shrinking, and say 
from our hearts and by our lives, ' ' I will follow whither- 
soever thou goest." 



170 HEART TALKS 



TALK THIRTY-THREE 
PAUL'S PERSUASION 

Paul uses the term "persuaded" in the sense of 
assurance. "When he said that he was persuaded of a 
thing involving God's attitude, he meant that he was 
fully convinced that it was as it was stated to be. He 
meant that to him it stood out as a reality. It was a 
thing that he no longer questioned. In Rom. 8 : 38 and 
39, he speaks of one of the things of which he was 
persuaded. He did not seem to feel about it as some 
feel ; and when they read what he says, they realize that 
they do not feel just as he did. He says, "For I am 
persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor 
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of 
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ' ' 

Some people are all the time worrying lest they should 
be separated from that love, lest God's love should be 
turned into hatred against them. They walk before him 
with fear and trembling. They are all the time ques- 
tioning whether their conduct merits his approval. They 
are ever fearful lest they might do something that would 
bring his wrath upon them. Their life is a life of fear 
and of bondage. Paul had no such fears and no such 
feelings. He knew that the great heart of God is a 
heart of love, a heart of tender pity, compassion, and 
sympathy. He knew that God is tender toward his 



PAUL'S PERSUASION 171 

earthly children. Why, even when we were sinners, 
Christ died for us! and the Father so loved us that he 
gave his only begotten Son. This love was for rebels. 
How much greater his affection for his sons ! Instead of 
thinking that he might be easily separated from the love 
of God, and that he should have to be exceedingly care- 
ful lest he should be, Paul cries out, "Who shall sepa- 
rate us from the love of Christ?'' (v. 35). By this he 
means, Who or what shall be able to separate us? 

Paul knew something of the strength of earthly love. 
He knew mother-love — how tenderly it holds to its own. 
He knew that no matter where the son wanders, mother- 
love goes with him ; mother-love calls him back ; mother- 
love yearns over him. He knew love in other forms — 
how tenaciously it clings to its objects. But the love of 
Christ, or the love of God in Christ, is above and beyond 
all this human love. And so he cried out, "Who shall 
separate us from the love of Christ?" Then he named 
some things and asked if they should separate us from 
God's love, and when he looked at them all, he was still 
persuaded that nothing should be able. 

Paul says, "Neither death nor life." If death should 
lay his icy fingers upon us, it would be but the ushering 
into the more immediate presence of that great love. 
But if we must continue to live on in our earthly cir- 
cumstances and surroundings, that very life can not 
separate us from the love of Christ, for he will love 
us through it all. Through various changes, through all 
the trying situations that may face us, that love will 
hold us fast. Time and change can not make that love 
otow cold. 



172 HEART TALKS 

Again, he says, ' ' Nor angels. ' ' God is in heaven, sur- 
rounded by the angels, but he wants us to understand 
that those angels can not take up so much of his time 
and attention that he will forget us. Nor can those evil 
angels that hate God and hate us separate between us 
and his love. Even Satan himself, their leader and mas- 
ter, has not power to come between us and the love of 
God. Ah, soul, do not be afraid. Satan has no knife 
sharp enough to cut that love. He has no strength to 
tear its tendrils out of our hearts. He can not burn 
those cords that hold us. Even all his legions can not 
touch that love, if we trust it and trust ourselves in 
God's keeping. 

Then he says, "Nor things present." my brother, 
sister, do you believe that? Do you believe that the 
things of this hour, whatever they may be, can not 
separate you from the love of God? "Things present." 
How many things there are present. How many 
things there are that press in upon us! How many 
discouragements there are in life! How many per- 
plexities! How many things that trouble! How many 
things that would draw us away! Yet, if we keep our 
trust in God, none of these things will be able to separate 
us from his love. None of these things will make him 
turn his back upon us. 

"Nor things to come." Do you look into the future 
with dread? Do you see with forebodings the things 
that appear there? Do you think, "How shall I ever 
pass through it? How shall I ever overcome?" Ah, 
those things that are ahead of you can not separate you 
from God's love. That love is going to securely hold 



PAUL'S PBESUASION 173 

you through them all. That love is going to be your 
strength and your safeguard, your hope and your all. 
Cast away your forebodings. Look to God with confi- 
dence until the confidence of Paul enters your soul and 
you can say with the same assurance that he did, "I am 
persuaded. 7 ' 

Again, he says, "Nor height, nor depth." It matters 
not if God is in heaven, high above us. It matters not 
if he is so great, so majestic, so powerful. His height 
above us shall not prevent his love from reaching us 
and holding us up. "Nor depth." It matters not to 
what depth we sink, whether it be depths of discour- 
agement or depths of fear or depths in the feeling of 
our own helplessness. It matters not if God is very 
high and we are very low, if he is very great and we 
are very small; our depth shall not separate us from 
his height. His love will bridge the gulf. 

soul, trust in that love. Rely upon it. It will 
never fail you. It will securely hold you in the gales 
of life. Tribulation or distress or persecution or famine 
or nakedness or perils or storms — none of these things 
shall be able to separate you from him. And the apostle 
continues to say, "Nay, in all these things we are more 
than conquerors through him that loved us" (v. 37). 
Love will bear us up as with eagles' wings. It will make 
smooth the rough paths. It will give strength to the 
fainting heart. It will preserve us while in the midst 
of temptation ; and even when we have come short of 
our expectations, when we realize that we have in a 
measure failed, that love will not cast us off, but will 
hold us safe and secure until the end. Let us look to 



174 HEART TALKS 

that love, and be confident, and rest in full assurance 
of faith, knowing that 

When the storm-winds rage, and the rain falls fast, 

And the clouds hang low above, 
I shall be secure till the storm is past, 

For I trust my Savior's love, 
And he knows the way, and he holds my hand, 

And he will not let it go; 
He will lead me home to that better land 

Just because he loves me so. 

I will trust his love, for it e'er will last; 

It is rich and warm and free; 
Through the years of life it will hold me fast, 

And my help and comfort be. 
To my waiting heart all its treasures rare, 

As a sparkling stream shall flow; 
In the joy of God I shall ever share, 

Just because he loves me so. 



IN CHRIST AND IN EPHESUS 175 



TALK THIRTY-FOUR 
IN CHRIST AND IN EPHESUS 

Paul addressed his Ephesian epistle, "To the saints 
which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Je- 
sus/' The people addressed were in Ephesus, and they 
were likewise in Christ. What did it mean to be in 
Ephesus? Ephesus was one of the great centers of 
paganism. It was adorned with costly and magnificent 
temples. It was rich and voluptuous. Both private 
and public life were utterly corrupt. Even the religious 
practises of the Ephesians were unspeakably vile. This 
city was a moral bog, a sink of pollution, filled with all 
corruption, and reeking with vileness. It was a second 
Sodom. Vice stalked abroad everywhere and was hon- 
ored and worshiped. 

We might therefore well say, "Can any good thing 
come out of Ephesus ? Can Christianity flourish in such 
surroundings?" But there were saints in Ephesus, and 
faithful ones, too. They were such in their lives and 
characters as to win the commendation of that great 
apostle to the Gentiles. Out of that obnoxious mud of 
iniquity were growing the pure white lilies of Christian 
character. That is the glory of Christianity and of Christ. 
Those who were now Christians were not superior to 
the other Ephesians; they were not by nature different. 
In fact, Paul tells them that they had been the children 
of wrath, even as others, and that they had been such 
by nature. What a triumph of divine grace that raised 



176 HEART TALKS 

these people up out of such unspeakable filth and made 
them faithful saints! And yet that is the power of 
our great Christ. 

Some persons look around at the present condition of 
things in this world, at sin abounding on every hand, 
and say, ' ' There is no use for me to try to be a Christian 
or to be different from the others. ' ' There are many who 
look at things in this way. They think it useless to try 
to be righteous under present conditions. Once while 
walking down the street of a certain city, I came upon 
a policeman standing on the street-corner. I engaged 
him in conversation, which I quickly turned into religious 
channels, and began inquiring about his own standing. 
He said to me in a hopeless voice, "Oh, there is no use 
talking; there is no chance for a policeman." I tried 
to tell him of the power of God and of what salvation 
would do for him. But it seemed as an idle tale to 
him, and he could only reply, "There is no hope for a 
policeman. ' ' 

There are many other people today in various situa- 
tions who say: "There is no hope for me. There is no 
use for me to try. ' ' Those Ephesians might have talked 
the same way. They had just as much reason to do so 
as any one else. Probably some of them did talk like 
that and were lost; who can tell? There were a great 
many, however, who turned from idols to serve the true 
and living God, received Christ into their hearts, and 
found the power of salvation in the gospel. They found 
power in the blood of Christ to cleanse them from their 
impurities, and not only so, but also to raise them so 
far from the mire of sin and wickedness abounding 



IN CHRIST AND IN EPHESUS 177 

around them as to keep them faithful in Christ Jesus 
while still dwelling in Ephesus. 

It is not so much a change of environment that people 
need as a change of heart and of character. Diamonds 
are often found embedded in volcanic mud; mud sur- 
rounds them on every side, and yet they have lain there 
for centuries and are still diamonds. What is the secret 
of it? Why have they not become contaminated? It is 
because the mud never entered the diamond; and that 
was the reason that the Ephesian saints could be faithful 
and still live in Ephesus. They were left amidst the 
foul mud of corruption, but the mud was taken out of 
them, and the grace of Christ kept it from getting back 
in again. 

We can not get away from the mud and defilement 
of sin in this world. Sin will ever be all about us. Its 
stench will be in our nostrils from day to day. Our 
eyes will be offended by it, and our ears will be shocked. 
But so long as we keep it all on the outside, we can be 
saints and faithful in Christ Jesus. We are told that 
one of the chief things for us to do is to keep ourselves 
"unspotted from the world/' Phil. 2:15 says, "That 
ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, with- 
out rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse na- 
tion, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." 
Again Paul says, "Neither be partakers of other men's 
sins: keep thyself pure" (1 Tim. 5:22). We are not 
only to keep free from committing any sins of our own, 
but also to avoid partaking of the sins of others. That 
is very important. 

Now, we are, as it were, in Ephesus. There is sin 



178 HEART TALKS 

abounding all about us. God wants us so to abhor the 
sins of others that we shall not follow them, nor find 
pleasure in those who do sinful things. There are two 
ways in which we can partake of other people's sins. 
One way is to approve of their evil works. It may be 
that we ourselves would not do those things, but if we 
approve of some one else's doing them, it is just about 
as bad. 

Never allow yourself to approve of another's sins. 
You can not keep clean and do it. Again, we may be 
partakers of other men's sins by partaking of the re- 
sults of them. If a man cheats another in business, and 
then I share in his ill-gotten gain, I am partaking of his 
sin. It may be that I would not steal my neighbor's 
melons; but if another steals them, and I, knowing his 
theft, eat of them with him, do I not partake of his sins ? 
And so it is with all the affairs of life. 

We must keep ourselves separate from sin. We can 
not help being in Ephesus. We must live in this cor- 
rupt and sinful world. So the important thing is that 
we attend to keeping ourselves in Christ — unspotted 
from the world. If the Ephesians could do this, so can 
we. But to do it, we must walk uprightly. We must 
not stoop down into the mire of sin, but keep ourselves 
erect, and keep our spiritual nostrils above the poisonous 
gases of sin. 

Lot was a man of God. He dwelt in Sodom, and we 
are told that his righteous soul was vexed from day to 
day because of the wicked conduct of the Sodomites. 
But he kept himself clear; he had no part with them; 
he hated their sins. When we reach a place where we 



IN CHRIST AND IN EPHESUS 179 

do not hate sin, where we can see it and hear and know 
of it and find no vexation in our souls, it causes us no 
uneasiness, we have no particular repugnance for it, 
it is time that we were becoming' awakened. We are com- 
manded to abhor that which is evil, and it is only by so 
doing and by keeping ourselves clean from it that we 
can be safe in Christ Jesus and dwell in this wicked 
world. 

There was a bit of heaven in every Christian heart in 
Ephesus. That bit of heaven was just as pure as the 
celestial realms above. We too have that heavenly ele- 
ment in our hearts; and in that transplanted bit of 
God's holiness will flourish all the plants of righteous- 
ness that bloom in the courts eternal. But we must 
guard these plants by keeping the gates of our hearts 
closed night and day against evil. Only thus can we 
keep pure and acceptable to God. This we can do and 
be holy and faithful in the worst "Ephesus" that exists 
today, if it be our lot to abide there. 



ISO HEART TALKS 



TALK THIRTY-FIVE 
THE PRACTICAL SIDE OF RELIGION 

The sun was slowly sinking toward the western hori- 
zon while I wended my way up the ragged hillside. As 
I ascended the winding path ever higher and higher, my 
horizon broadened. When at length I reached the sum- 
mit and turned to gaze back over the valley, the city lay 
spread out like a great picture at my feet. The winding 
river, with a steamer slowly moving along on its bosom, 
shimmered in the evening sunlight. The sounds from the 
city were softened and blended until they rose to me 
like the musical strain of far-away melodies. The low- 
hanging sun glorified the drifting clouds with the hues 
of the autumn mountain-side. Crimson and orange and 
gold, they burned in that western expanse. I gazed upon 
the scene, and its influence seemed to exalt and enrapture 
my spirit. There stole into my being a sense of rest and 
peace and joy that lifted me out of the monotony of 
ordinary things. I sat there and drank in the beauties 
of the scene until the sun sank out of sight behind the 
hills and the stars began to twinkle overhead. The lights 
flashed out in the city beneath. The quiet hush of the 
evening seemed to settle down over me, and it seemed 
good to be alive and to be there. 

The mountain-top is a delightful place. There the - 
reaches heights and depths such as it reaches at no other 
time. Preachers love to preach and poets love to sing 
of the mountain-tops of life. How delightful are tl 



THE PRACTICAL SIDE OF RELIGION 181 

times in our spiritual life, and how naturally we long 
for these seasons! How often they are pictured up 
till one would suppose that they are the principal things 
in the Christian life! Some people have fancied that 
when they became Christians the mountain-top experi- 
ence would be their constant portion. They may have 
been led to expect this from hearing preaching that 
exalted the emotional side of religion. It may be 
that when they were converted their new-born joys 
seemed to be unending. They thought that this exalta- 
tion of spirit was the normal state of a Christian. They 
gloried in it as the days passed by. The time came, 
however, when this emotional glow subsided. As the 
barometer of their feelings fell, they began to question 
themselves thus: "What m the matter with me? Have 
I done something wrong? Am I mistaken in thinking 
that I was saved?" Thus, their faith fell with their 
emotions. After a while their emotions rose again, and 
their faith rose with their emotions. Now they knew 
that they were all right. 

There are times when we seem to draw near to God in 
prayer, when the sight and sound of the world is shut 
out. An inexpressible sweetness and joy and satisfac- 
tion come into the heart. How near God seems! How 
calm and precious is the hour ! How our spirits drink in 
of the water of life ! How we seem to talk face to face 
with our Lord, and how the curtain seems drawn back 
till our eyes behold the secrets of the Eternal ! We give 
ourselves over to the supreme enjoyment of the hour. 
But alas ! in a short time we find ourselves no longer on 
the mountain, but out in the broad plain of life, and 



182 HEART TALKS 

how tame and monotonous is that plain when we think 
of the mountain! 

In this the natural and the spiritual are alike. What 
would you think of the man who would build a store 
upon the mountain-top, apart from the throng of pur- 
chasers whose business he desired? Would you think 
that wisdom was displayed? Do business men do this 
way? No, they seek the busy street that is trodden by 
a multitude, where flows the constant stream of traffic; 
and there, amid the noise and dust and hurry, they 
ply their trade with little thought of the mountain-top. 

The mountain-top is a very good place to which to 
make an excursion now and then. It is the place to 
spend our holidays, but it is not the place for the real 
accomplishments of life. When we wish to make a liv- 
ing, we must leave the mountain-top with its far-Hung 
panorama of beauty. We must roll up our sleeves and 
take up the rugged toil and, mid sweat and grime and 
noise and discord, produce the real results that feed and 
clothe and shelter us. The real accomplishments of life 
are not on the mountain-top, but in the monotonous, soul- 
trying daily grind of business. If you imagine that you 
are to live in the idealism of a mountain-top experience, 
you will find yourself coming short of it most of the 
time. You will be continually lamenting over your 
failure to make your experience measure to your ideal. 
So long as you are reaching toward this ideal and are 
conscious of your failure to reach it, your attention 
will be absorbed by this, and you will be of little use 
to God. The sooner you come down to the place where 
you stop condemning yourself because your emotions 



THE PRACTICAL SIDE OF RELIGION 183 

are not always joyous or because you can not always 
pray with that full outpouring of soul, the better it 
will be for you. You will never become a practical 
Christian till you learn that the Christian life, like the 
natural life, is largely made up of a monotonous round 
of duties. 

There is little of glamor or brilliancy in labor or 
ordinary things. That is reserved for the special things 
in life. It is true that there is joy in the toil and in 
the hardness, yea, even in the bitterness, if there is a 
consciousness of duty well done. It is the daily grind 
that tests the faithfulness. God wants people who will 
be true in the daily toil of life, who will do well the 
little, uninteresting things. He wants practical Chris- 
tians, people who are willing to do the work even if it 
means weariness, even if it means little of emotion, even 
if it means sacrifice. 

If you lived on the mountain-top always, the scene 
would soon lose its beauty, and you would soon forget 
its loveliness. When, after the days of toil, after the 
months of the prosaic, you lay aside your tools and turn 
from your labors, it is then that you can go out and en- 
joy the beauties of nature. It is then that you can enter 
into her moods and be her comrade. You can enjoy her 
then and be refreshed by her as you could not be without 
those weary days of toil. Many people are willing to en- 
joy, but they shun the work. In natural things we call 
such persons lazy. 

Idealism has its place in life, but it must not close 
our eyes to the practical side of life. Enjoy what of 
the mountain-top God may give to you, but do not count 



184 HEART TALKS 

this the ordinary, usual thing of Christian life. Learn 
to enjoy the toil. Learn to find the sweetness that is 
in it. Learn to find the beauty in the common things of 
life, for some of the most common things are among 
the most beautiful when our eyes are taught to see their 
beauty. The Christian life is preeminently a life of 
service. That is its highest and broadest purpose. To 
try to be a Christian merely for the joy that is to be 
found in it is often to render ourselves miserable. To 
seek happiness for ourselves as the chief end of life 
is a very unworthy purpose, and is one that can but 
end in disappointment. 

See that you do your part in life in the every-day 
things, and God will permit you to live on the mountain 
as he sees best. Appreciate the mountain experiences 
when they come, but do not let them make you despise 
the common things. 



DO YOU NEED PATIENCE 185 

TALK THIRTY-SIX 
DO YOU NEED PATIENCE? 

Have you not often heard people say, "My greatest 
need is more patience ' ' ? Possibly you feel just that way 
yourself. There is probably no lack that so quickly and 
persistently manifests itself as this lack, which can not 
exist without revealing itself, for in order to possess 
patience one must employ it in his every-day life. Many 
people who do not understand its real nature nor how to 
come into possession of it realize their need of it. 

Much of the teaching on the subject of patience proves 
to be ineffectual because the teacher himself does not 
understand his subject. Sometimes it is taught that all 
impatience comes from sin in the heart, and that if one 
manifests a lack of patience he is not sanctified. Such 
teaching can come only from a misapprehension of the 
facts. Sanctification is a wonderful thing, and it does 
wonderful things for us. It purifies, softens, and refines 
our whole nature; but it does not perfect our natural 
faculties, and patience is one of these natural faculties, 
or qualities. There is an impatience, however, that has 
its root in sin, and which is itself sinful. The blood- 
cure reaches and eradicates this type. There is also a 
natural impatience. How much we have of this depends 
largely upon our general make-up. A lack of discrimina- 
tion between these two kinds of impatience often causes 
souls great distress. Before we teach on the subject, we 
ought to be sure we have the distinction clearly drawn 
in our own minds. 



186 HEART TALKS 

Patience is a matter of temperament, of grace, and 
of cultivation. Some people are patient by nature. 
They can take almost anything patiently. Sometimes 
this is from natural calmness of disposition; sometimes 
it is the result of lack of spirit. But in any case, such 
a person will be more naturally patient when saved than 
will others who are of a different temperament. Salva- 
tion does not destroy our natural temperaments. 

Grace goes far towards supplying us with patience, 
but grace alone will not always be sufficient; therefore 
patience must also be a thing of cultivation. We are 
told to "add patience." This means that not all our 
patience comes by grace, but that some of it comes by 
works. In our sinful lives we cultivate impatience by 
acting out our feelings of impatience. The more we put 
our feelings into action, the more impatient we become. 
When we are saved, we begin to act out patience, and 
the more we act it out, the more patient we become in 
our nature. 

Patience is largely a matter of the proper use of the 
will. The Bible does not say, "Feel patient," for our 
feelings are largely involuntary; but it says, "Be pa- 
tient," that is, act patiently, for our actions are volun- 
tary. There are those who, when waiting for a train, 
can not sit still. Such an individual walks up and 
down the platform and looks at his watch again and 
again. He sits down and rises again, and turns this 
way and that way. Another sits quietly and is unper- 
turbed. It matters not to him if he does have to wait 
a while. It is no task for him to be patient. He is of a 
patient temperament. The other is quite the opposite. 



DO YOU NEED PATIENCE 187 

Because of this, however, we can not say that one has 
more salvation than the other. Both are feeling natural- 
ly. The difference is in their natures, in their tempera- 
ments, and not in their hearts. 

The fact that we are exhorted again and again to be 
patient signifies that the acting out of patience is a 
matter of our wills. No matter how pure our hearts 
are, we have tests of patience. A pure heart is not an 
automatic heart, working out things independently of 
the will. When we have a pure heart, our will is fully 
set to do right, and through our will we regulate our 
actions so that they are right. Our feelings are 
influenced by the will, but are not controlled by it. We 
can not help feeling sad or joyous when there is an 
occasion that influences our feelings. So we can not 
but feel impatient sometimes ; that is, things will try our 
patience, and we find that our feelings respond, in some 
degree at least, to those circumstances. The degree of 
response will depend upon our temperament, and the 
amount of grace we have, and how much we have culti- 
vated patience. 

Do not forget that we are not told to feel patient, but 
to "be patient," though we should be careful to control 
our feelings so far as is possible by the force of will. 
When an impatient feeling comes, we do one of two 
things : we either yield to it and act it out, or we resist 
it and act patiently. The latter is what we should al- 
ways do. When we are full of joy and everything is 
going smoothly, it is easy to believe that we have plenty 
of patience ; but in time of stress, of trial, when we are 
weak or suffering in body, when we are weary or feel 



188 HEART TALKS 

• 

discouraged, then it is that we most readily feel impa- 
tient. It is not that we have less patience at such 
times, but that impatience more easily manifests itself. 
We should at all times resist every feeling of impatience, 
yet we should not condemn ourselves for feeling what 
we can not help feeling. We should not think that we 
are not sanctified simply because we are not so patient 
as we desire to be. 

It is natural for a saved person to long for greater 
patience to endure and suffer. We should do all in our 
power to grow in patience. "But how shall I add 
patience?" you may ask. There are two things to do. 
First, pray; and second, cultivate patience. Make it 
a practise day by day never to yield to an impatient 
feeling. Let this attitude be manifested by word and 
act. Reflect upon the patience of Jesus and study to 
know what is the Scriptural ideal. When your patience 
is tried, deliberately take hold of yourself by your will- 
power and make yourself act and speak as you know you 
should. By following this rule you will become more 
and more patient. This is the only possible way of add- 
ing patience. 

We become in nature the reflection of our acts. Good 
acts repeated become good habits. Good habits followed 
out make good character. Not that good habits will save 
or take the place of grace, but they are equally necessary 
in the formation of Christian character. "Let patience 
have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and en- 
tire, wanting nothing.' ' 



STUMBLING- OE STEPPING-STONES? 189 



TALK THIETT-SEVEN 
STUMBLING-STONES, OR STEPPING-STONES? 

Things may be stumbling-stones or stepping-stones 
to us. They may be hindrances or helps — trials or 
blessings. What they prove to be depends not so much 
on their nature as upon our attitude toward them. It 
is not our opportunities that count, but the use that we 
make of them. It is not how much money we possess, 
but the wisdom we display in its expenditure. It is not 
how many obstacles we meet in life, but the manner 
in which we meet them, It is. not the soul who has the 
fewest trials and difficulties that prospers most, but 
the one who meets them with courage and confident 
trust. Some are crushed down and made to despair by 
the very things that stir others to renewed effort and 
courage. 

What our trials are to us depends on what we are to 
them. This is well illustrated in Elijah's experience. 
The king and queen were his bitter enemies. He feared 
them and fled away and lived in hiding. He was afraid 
lest he should be betrayed to them. He looked to his 
enemies; he saw their power; he looked at himself and 
saw his own impotence. And so he dwelt in fear. But 
the time came when God spoke to him, and as he looked 
to God he began to see His greatness and his soul was 
lifted up with courage. His own weakness and the might 
of his enemies faded away from his gaze. He came out 
boldly and challenged the idolatrous party to a test of 



190 HEART TALKS 

strength. Single-handed and alone, we see him walk out 
before the assembled multitude, superior to them all. 
There is no fear in his heart now. He is not in the least 
daunted by his adversaries. He can look them squarely 
in the eyes without shrinking. His heart is full of con- 
fidence. He knows whom he is trusting. Throughout 
the long day while the priests of Baal are calling so 
earnestly upon their powerless god, the prophet is the 
calmest man of all the many witnesses. He is looking 
on God's side now, and he is conscious master of the 
whole situation. He even grows ironical toward his 
enemies. 

The outcome does not surprize us, for we know the 
God he served. He was victorious now, but let us look 
at him a few days later. Under a juniper-tree in the 
wilderness sits a man, weary and dejected. He has fled 
for his life, but now even his life has lost its value, and 
he says, "It is enough: now, Lord, take away my 
life." Elijah has fallen from the summit of victory to 
the depths of despair. What occasioned this great 
change? Things did not turn out as he had expected 
them to. Instead of the queen being humbled by the 
display of God's power, she was only made harder and 
her anger became more fierce. And when Elijah heard 
her threat to kill him, he lost sight of God and saw only 
the anger of the queen and his own weakness and danger ; 
so his heart was filled with fear, and he fled as does a 
hunted animal to the depths of the wilderness. So long 
as he looked to God, he was victorious over his enemies 
and fearless as a lion; they could not harm him. But 
when he looked upon the strength of his foes and his 



STUMBLING- OR STEPPING-STONES? 191 

own weakness and lost sight of God, he was overcome 
with fear and fled terror-stricken. 

What made the difference in his conduct? Were not 
his enemies the same? Was, not their wrath to be feared 
as much one time as another? Was not God protecting 
and keeping him all the time ? Had he need to fear them 
more at one time than at another? The secret of his 
different behavior was his attitude toward them. When 
he feared them, they were stumbling-stones to him. 
When he feared them not, their enmity became the 
stepping-stone by which he was raised to the lofty height 
of victory. 

The same principle is true in our lives. If we approach 
a conflict or trial with fear and trembling and shrinking, 
it will very likely prove a stumbling-stone to us; but if 
we approach it with calm confidence in God and a settled 
determination to overcome, we may make it a stepping- 
stone upon which we may mount to higher and better 
things. 

Sometimes things that are at first very discouraging 
to us afterwards become sources of help and encourage- 
ment ; not that the things themselves change, but because 
we see them from a different angle. This is well illus- 
trated by the effect of my long affliction. One of the 
worst things that I had to face in the first two or three 
years was the consciousness of the depressing and dis- 
couraging influence that it was having upon others, not 
only upon those about me, but upon many persons here 
and there, as evidenced by numerous letters showing 
that the effect was wide-spread. It seemed to be a hin- 
drance to the faith of many people. But in the last two 



192 HEART TALKS 

or three years I have received many letters telling me 
how greatly the writers had been encouraged and helped 
by my affliction. The affliction itself was the same; the 
change was in them ; for that which was once a source of 
discouragement would have continued so had they con- 
tinued to look at it as they had formerly done. The 
fact that the changed point of view, or changed attitude, 
changed the effect shows that it is not so much the 
thing itself as our attitude toward it that affects us. 

It is so in regard to all things. We have need to learn 
the lesson that one sister learned. Speaking of the early 
months of my affliction, she writes, "At that time it was 
a hindrance to my faith ; but it has ceased to be so, for 
I have learned not to ask why, but to have faith in God 
and wait and trust." 

Learning to wait and trust is the secret. This gives 
God the opportunity to bring out that which is best. 
How could we know the virtue of patience if no one had 
a trial of his patience ? If we looked only at the trial, 
where would be the blessing? We often must look be- 
yond the things that first appear. We must often look at 
"the things which are not seen" that we may have cour- 
age to meet the things that are seen. It is when we do 
this that our trials become blessings; our stumbling- 
stones, stepping-stones. 

When we face things courageously and hold to our 
course steadily through the storm, or when we bear 
opposition and trials patiently and hold fast our integ- 
rity through temptation, it is then that we mount up by 
means of these very things to a loftier height and a 
broader outlook. When we try to lift up ourselves by 



STUMBLING- OR STEPPING-STONES? 193 

expending our forces upon ourselves, we make but lit- 
tle progress. How hard it is to keep good resolutions! 
How hard it is to make ourselves better or stronger by 
the study of abstract goodness or by wishing ourselves 
something else than we are ! We may look to the heights 
above us and long to be there; we may think of the 
noble outlook were we there, but there is but one way to 
attain those heights — by the slow, laborious, and weari- 
some process of climbing ; and the things upon which we 
must set our feet are the difficulties that we have over- 
come. 

It is easy to go down toward the valley of discourage- 
ment. It takes no effort to let a thing weigh us down. 
We can easily let our courage and our confidence slip if 
we will. It is sometimes easier to go down-hill than it 
is to stop in our going. But in life it is the up-hill going 
that counts. Every time you overcome or trust clear 
through to victory, you have made progress upward. 
If you see a trial coming, do not shrink and do not fear. 
Do not say, "Oh, how shall I bear it!" 

God designs that your trials shall help you, not hinder 
you. He could keep you from having them if it were 
wise; but he sees that you need them, yes, that you must 
have them, or you will never rise above your present 
level. Look for the good in them ; count them blessings. 
Meet them bravely, and you will find them in truth 
stepping-stones, not stumbling-stones, 



194 HEART TALKS 

TALK THIRTY-EIGHT 
USE WHAT YOU HAVE 

Few people really are and do their best. Nature has 
blessed a few with great talents and abilities. These 
persons often become proud, self -centered, and feel them- 
selves to be superior, and for that reason many times they 
fail to make the proper use of their abilities. How often 
are they used in a bad or foolish way, so that what might 
be a blessing to the world fails to be such! There are 
many others who realize they do not possess these natural 
gifts. They look upon those who have them, and envy 
them. They bemoan their own lack, and say, "If I only 
had the talents that person has," and meanwhile they 
sit in idleness, making no use of what they have. 

" If I could preach like So-and-so, what I would accom- 
plish for the Lord!" another says; or, "If I had the 
money So-and-so has, what I could accomplish for the 
kingdom ! ' ' 

"If my circumstances were different, I might hope 
to do something/' comes from another. 

But all these are like the dreamer who says, ' ' Tomor- 
row I will do great things," and yet today he does 
nothing. 

Make the Best of Yourself 

You will always be yourself. You can never be any 
one else. If you ever accomplish anything, it will be 
through those powers and abilities you now possess. It 
is of no use to lament that you are not as somebody else 
is; it is of no use to envy another's talents. You are 



USE WHAT YOU HAVE 195 

only yourself. You might as well face that fact, and 
endeavor to make the best possible use of the gifts you 
have. They may look very small compared with those of 
some others, but they are all you have. Time spent in 
troubling yourself because you are not greater is worse 
than wasted. The question is, Shall I improve and 
make use of what I have? 

Man is capable of great development. Eye, hand, 
strength, mind, will — in fact, the whole man may, by 
proper efforts, be taught and developed, and expanded 
until he becomes something very different from what he 
was at first. The blessing of God will help us much, 
but that will not take the place of our own determined 
and persevering efforts. 

Have you ever attempted to develop yourself ? Do not 
think that because your abilities now seem small they 
never can be greater. You were only a child once. You 
did not think that you never would be larger. You 
looked eagerly forward to the time when you would be 
as large as grown-up people. Each day you ate and 
drank and breathed and exercised — the very things that 
would produce the growth that you desired. You used 
what you had of energy and strength, and thus increased 
them. We ought to be as wise in spiritual things as in 
natural things. Paul said to Timothy, "Neglect not the 
gift that is in thee." 

You must make use of what you have, then God will 
bestow more. But he can not bestow more until you use 
with your might what you have. You are, so to speak, 
the raw material of what you may be. What you will 
be depends on the use you make of this material. The 



196 HEART TALKS 

responsibility for the final product lies with you. De- 
velop your mind, develop your soul, develop patience, 
courage, faith, loyalty, justice, benevolence, endurance, 
cheerfulness, determination, diligence, industry, and all 
those other qualities that make up real Christian man- 
hood and that are the foundation of success in life. If 
you lack the will to try and keep trying, you will see 
yourself always a failure. Decide to be your best and 
do your best. If you will do this by God's help, you will 
not fail. 

Use Wisely What You Have 

Israel was oppressed. The Philistines had taken the 
Israelites' swords and spears, in fact, swept the country 
bare of armor. Shamgar had not much to fight with. 
He had no sword nor spear, no shield, no helmet. The 
Philistines were coming ; something must be done. There 
was the ox-goad, but what would that amount to against 
swords and spears? It was all the weapon he had. But 
he had something else; he had courage, determination, 
and faith. So he started straight for the host of enemies, 
and we are told that he slew ' ' six hundred men with an 
ox-goad: and he also delivered Israel" (Judges 3:31). 
He had only an ox-goad, but he used it manfully. Had 
he not done so, Israel would not have been delivered. 

David, when he went against Goliath, had only his 
home-made sling and a few stones from the brook. But 
he went up to battle with unshaken faith in God. He 
had not much to start with in the way of weapons, but 
he had the courage to use what he did have. And he is 
famous to this day as Israel's deliverer. 

Samson had only a jaw-bone, but he did not stop a 



USE WHAT YOU HAVE 197 

moment to lament that fact. He did have the three 
things necessary in himself — courage, determination, and 
faith. And we are told that the Spirit of the Lord came 
mightily upon him. The result was he slew a thousand 
of his enemies, and put the rest to flight. Have you not 
as much equipment as any of these men had? But the 
results of their efforts were glorious. If you think you 
have but little to use for God, just add to it courage, 
determination, and faith, and go ahead. You will find 
that the Spirit of the Lord will make you mighty. Do 
not worry because you have so little to give; just be 
sure you give what you can. Do not worry because you 
seem to have so little ability, or so little time, or so 
little opportunity ; but do not fail to use what you have. 
Make the best of them. 

Use Your Environment 

It is of no use to say, "If my surroundings were 
different, " or "If I were in some other place, then I 
could do better." Possibly you could, but that is not 
the question. Are you doing what you can in your pres- 
ent environment ? If you can change your environment 
for the better, do it. If you can not, then decide to 
do your best where you are, 

You may dream of ideal conditions, but you will not 
find them in this world. Whether you succeed or fail 
depends less on your environment than it does on your- 
self. If you will be true to the best that is in you, your 
environment will not have the influence that you imagine 
it will. Favorable circumstances never take the place 
of soul-qualities. Develop your soul-qualities, and you 



198 HEART TALKS 

will be master of your environment. You need not let it 
master you. Be your best, and do your best, in your 
place. Make the best of your situation. There is a way 
for you to succeed, no matter what is against you. God 
will help you find that way if you are determined to 
find it. Never permit yourself to spend time in lamenta- 
tion over yourself or your circumstances. Keep the 
following thought and determination ever before you : 
"I will make the best of myself and my circumstances.'' 
This is the true and only road to success. 



WHEEE THE JOY IS 199 



TALK THIRTY-NINE 
WHERE THE JOY IS 

A sister wrote to me recently desiring me to tell her 
how she might find sweetness and joy in her trials. She 
seemed to have in her mind an ideal experience in which 
she could be joyous and calm and sweetly contented while 
undergoing trials, and she was struggling to attain to 
her ideal. 

This sister is not alone in her reaching out after such 
an experience. People often chide and condemn them 
selves because they have not attained to such heights. 
When they suffer and are distressed in their trials, they 
think there is something wrong with their experience, 
and they become discouraged. The Bible lifts the stand- 
ard just to the place where it ought to be; and if we 
have a higher ideal, we are sure to be constantly com- 
ing short of it. 

My answer to the sister was that she was looking in 
the wrong place for the sweetness and joy. Jesus is our 
example, and we can expect trials to have the same 
effect upon us as they had upon him. In that dark 
hour of trial in Gethsemane, with the heavy weight of 
the cross already upon his spirit, did he say to his 
disciples, "Behold, how joyful I am in such awful cir- 
cumstances"? Ah, no! his state was very different, and 
we hear him say, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even 
unto death." He was "a man of sorrows and acquainted 
with grief. ' ' When he hung upon the cross, he cried out 



200 HEART TALKS 

in agony, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken 
me?" Do you think there was joy or sweetness in that? 
Such feelings had no place in his emotions that day. 
But there was joy connected with these trials. We read 
that 'for the joy that was set before him, he endured 
the cross' (Heb. 12:2). Here we have endurance and 
joy, but we do not find them together: the endurance is 
present; the joy is "set before him." This is the order 
in which such things come to us- Christ's joy came, not 
from his sufferings, but from the result of these suffer- 
ings. His joy is in the redeemed souls that have been 
saved through his sufferings. 

Our own trials will of necessity mean suffering, and 
there can be little joy in suffering. Joy never has its 
direct origin in suffering; but it does often come out of 
suffering, or as a result of enduring suffering. The 
order in which it works is clearly seen in Heb. 
12:11 — "Now no chastening for the present seem- 
eth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless after- 
ward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness." 
This is what you may expect — grievousness in time of 
trial and chastening, and afterward the reaping of joy. 
The Bible speaks of our being "in heaviness through 
manifold temptations," and also says, "We count them 
happy which endure." Enduring implies suffering; and 
suffering, of itself, can never be joyful. We might, in a 
figure, say that suffering is the soil in which the tree 
of patient endurance grows, and that joy is the ripened 
fruit of the tree. 

There are many different kinds of trials, and they 
have different effects. Sometimes they are like a great 



WHERE THE JOY IS 201 

storm that sweeps over the soul, when the dashing rain 
obscures all view of the distant landscape and its beau- 
ties, when the howling of the wind, the flashing of the 
lightning, and the rolling of the thunder shuts out every- 
thing else and holds our entire attention. It is only 
when the storm is over and the calm has come, that we 
can look out again upon the broad and peaceful land- 
scape. There are other trials that remind one of a nail in 
one 's shoe : everywhere one goes, it is present, irritating, 
annoying, torturing. It hinders and detracts from all 
the common pleasures of life. 

When trials come, there is just one proper way to 
meet them; that is, with determination to overcome 
them and to keep our integrity during the time that we 
are suffering under them. It was the joy set before Jesus 
that made him strong to suffer. And so we, if we would 
be strong 1 for our trials, must look beyond them to the 
joy that is set before us. It is what is coming out of the 
trials that is the source of our rejoicing. If you have 
endured some trial — something that took real courage 
and fortitude — and you look back upon it and realize 
that you stood true, that you did not yield nor falter, is 
it not a source of great joy to your soul? When you 
see the grace that G-od gave you, does it not strengthen 
and encourage you? 

You desire the peaceful fruit of righteousness in your 
life; you want joy, peace, victory; but remember that 
these are the "afterwards" of patient endurance through 
the trial or chastening. You must wait for the fruit 
to ripen. If you try to enjoy it before it is ripe, you 
may find it works like eating a green persimmon — you 



202 HEART TALKS 

not only will spoil the fruit, but will find some unpleasant 
consequences. 

There are certain kinds of trials that bring forth joy 
quickly if they are met in the right spirit. We read that 
the early Christians "took joyfully the spoiling of their 
goods/' and again that they "rejoiced that they were 
counted worthy" to suffer for the name of Christ. This 
was persecution. Often we can "rejoice and leap for 
joy," not because of the persecution, but because of the 
fact that great is our reward in heaven. The joy comes 
from the contemplation of that reward. We suffer the 
persecution; we rejoice in the reward of our patient 
endurance. 

If we walk close to God, we shall find that in the midst 
of our trials, even when they are bitter, there is an under- 
current of sweet joyf ulness away down in the depths of 
our souls. The consciousness that we are the Lord's, 
that he loves us, and that he is our helper will be sweet 
in the midst of all our woes. This may sometimes be 
obscured by doubts and fears for a time, but if we 
hide away under his wings and trust securely, the harp 
of joy will sound in our souls though in the tumult of 
emotions. We may sometimes have to listen carefully, 
however, to hear the soft, sweet strains of its melody. 

Be patient in your trials: endure hardness as a good 
soldier : keep up the shield of faith ; fight the good fight ; 
and in due season your soul will sing triumphant songs 
of victory, and the joy-bells, pealing out their merry 
music, will summon God's people to rejoice with you in 
vour Lord and Savior. 



BLOWING THE CLOUDS AWAY 203 

TALK FORTY 
BLOWING THE CLOUDS AWAY 

I had been passing through a period of sore conflict. 
For several days I had had gloomy and distressing feel- 
ings. I had struggled with! all my might against them. 
I had tried to draw near the Lord and to get special 
help from him. It was hard to pray, and it seemed 
that when I prayed no answer came. Discouragement 
pressed in upon me. I had no idea of giving up the fight, 
but I knew not what to do next. It seemed that my 
strength was exhausted by the conflict. As I lay there 
meditating, it seemed that all at once a quiet voice said 
to me: " Do not try to blow away the clouds with your 
feeble breath. If you will be content to wait, the same 
wind that brought them will carry them away again. " 

As the voice spoke I seemed to see myself in a little 
ravine where I had often been, with a, great mass of thick 
clouds overhead moving slowly along. The lesson that 
God would get to me illuminated my mind. I saw how 
foolish it would be to try to blow away those great clouds. 
All my blowing could not move them an inch. I might 
strain and struggle, and try until my strength was all 
gone, but the clouds would not pass away, nor would 
the sunshine come a moment sooner for all my efforts. 

So those spiritual clouds that were hanging so low 
above me and wrapping me in their somber shadows 
could not be blown away by my feeble breath. I had 
nearly worn myself out by my efforts, but had gained 
nothing at all. I had worried myself, and it was all to 
no purpose. As I looked back at the beginning of that 



204 HEART TALKS 

season of heaviness and darkness, I could not see any- 
thing that I had done to bring it; it had just settled 
down upon me without any apparent reason, just as the 
clouds in the heavens come over the face of the sky with- 
out relation to any act of yours or mine. 

Brother, sister, have you not had such experiences in 
your Christian life? Have not darkness and gloom, 
heaviness and depression, come over your soul and you 
could not tell w T hy? You began to question yourself, 
thinking that surely there must be something wrong. 
You doubted and wondered ; you could not tell why you 
felt so. Perhaps for several days these feelings per- 
sisted. You resisted them. You prayed, you strug- 
gled. You searched yourself, but to no avail. The 
darkness still covered you ; the heaviness still pressed you 
down. Possibly Satan also came with powers of accusa- 
tion against your soul. You blew with all your might 
at the clouds, but still they lingered, and your heart was 
sorely troubled. By and by the clouds passed away, 
the sunshine came, and your heart sang again. You 
knew not what carried the clouds away nor w T hat brought 
the sunshine; nevertheless there it was illuminating, 
warming, and refreshing you again. 

There are many times in our lives when the clouds 
come through no fault of ours. Nothing that we can do 
will keep them from coming. No matter how close we 
live to God, they will sometimes come. We can not hope 
that our sky will always be clear, but I hope you will 
get the lesson that God gave me that day, years ago. The 
same wind that brought that cloud over you will carry 
it away again. 



BLOWING THE CLOUDS AWAY 205 

Do not waste your strength struggling against your 
feelings ; be patient and wait. Do not accuse yourself of 
having done wrong or of being wrong. Do not take these 
gloomy feelings as evidence against yourself, any more 
than you would take the literal shadows of a cloudy day 
to prove you were not right. 

If you have done wrong, God will show you just what 
the wrong has been, and he will also show you the way 
out. When the clouds come, then is the time to trust. 
If in your heart you mean to serve God, you know it, 
and he knows it. No matter how dark it may become, 
look up into his face and tell him that you mean to serve 
him no matter how things look, no matter how you feel. 
Our emotions are not governed by our wills — we can not 
feel as we please to feel; but we can be true when we 
will to be true, and we can wait and trust, We can not 
control circumstances ; we can not help being affected by 
surrounding influences. These in a great measure rule 
our feelings. We can keep the citadel of our soul and 
not allow sin to enter. 

Kemember this one thing, that all your struggling is 
only blowing at the clouds. It is easier to struggle than 
to be quiet and trust, but it profits nothing. In a few 
days your gloomy feelings and heaviness and darkness 
will pass away without any effort on your part. It may 
be longer in passing if you struggle against it. Just 
trust and wait; don't try to take the wind's task; let 
it do its own work. Then, when the sunshine comes 
again, you will not be worn out, but will be fresh and 
vigorous for the tasks that lie before you. 



206 HEART TALKS 



TALK FORTY-ONE 
HOW TO FERTILIZE LOVE 

Love is the greatest thing in earth or heaven. Out of 
it flows most of the things that are worth while in life. 
Love of relatives, love of friends, and love of the breth- 
ren (1 John 3 : 14) make life worth living. There is no 
heart so empty as the heart that is without love. There 
is no life so joyful as the love-filled life. Love puts a 
song in the heart, a sparkle in the eye, a smile on the lips, 
and makes the whole being glad. And God's love is 
greater than all else. He who has God's love has a con- 
tinual feast. There may be sorrow and care and suffer- 
ing in the life ; but if there is love, it lightens all these. 

Sometimes there is not the love for the relatives that 
there ought to be. Sometimes there is not the love for 
the brethren that should characterize us. When we real- 
ize this and feel our lack, the question naturally arises, 
' ' How can my love for them be increased ? ' ' Plants can 
not grow without fertility ; that is, the soil must contain 
the elements necessary to growth. If these are absent, 
they must be supplied, or there can be no harvest. This 
is equally true of love; it must be fertilized if it is to 
grow. Do you realize that you are lacking in love for 
some one? Do you manifest as much affection toward 
your conjugal companion as you did in days gone by? 

There are very many things that may choke out love 
in the home. One of these is the lack of kindness. If 
you have grown less kind in your feelings, in your ac- 



HOW TO FEKTILIZE LOVE 207 

tions, and in your words, love can not thrive. Kindness 
is one of the best fertilizers for love. Do you show the 
same consideration for the feelings and tastes of your 
companion as you used to show? There are so many 
people who have two sets of tones in which to speak, 
and two sets of manners in which they act. They have 
their company manners and their family manners. When 
they have company, the voice is soft and pleasant, the 
manners are agreeable and kindly. They treat their 
friends with the greatest consideration; but as soon as 
their friends are gone, the pleasant voice changes into 
crossness or harshness and faultfinding, and the pleasant- 
ness of manner disappears. In how many homes is this 
true ! The greater consideration, the greater kindness, is 
due the home folks. Otherwise, love can not flourish. 
If you wish to have love for your home folks, you must 
show them the consideration that is due them. 

Some professors of religion are like the catbird. When 
it is away from its nest, it is one of the sweetest of the 
northern warblers, and so it is often called the northern 
mocking-bird; but when it is close to its nest, you will 
hear only a harsh, discordant note. It has no sweetness 
in its voice while at its nest. Some people reserve all 
their kindness, tenderness, and sweetness for those out- 
side the family circle. Is it any wonder that love dies 
in such a home ? If you realize you do not love some one 
enough, begin to consider his desires. Begin to show a 
special interest in him. Watch for opportunities to 
be kind to him. Try especially to be agreeable, and 
you will soon find that this reacts upon yourself; 
in a short time you will find your love increasing; and 



208 HEART TALKS 

the more you follow this course, the more your love will 
increase. 

I have been asked if we should love all saints the same. 
Some have even taught that if we were right in our souls 
we would love one of God's children as much as another. 
This, however, is not possible, Even Jesus loved some of 
his disciples more than others. There were three — 
James, Peter, and John — who were closer to him than the 
others; and of these, John was most beloved. He calls 
himself "that disciple whom Jesus loved/' If love for 
the brethren depended solely on spiritual things, then, 
possibly we might love all the same; but it depends to 
a great extent on other things as well. Jesus loved John 
much because of John's loving nature. We love those 
most who seem to us most lovable. "We are drawn most 
to those whose dispositions and characters and interests 
appeal most strongly to us. There are those who are 
saved, who, because of their faults or unlovely disposi- 
tions, repel us rather than attract us. We will not find 
ourselves drawn into the same close relations with them 
as with the others. There is danger of a twofold nature. 
On the one hand, we are liable to love some so much 
that we become partial towards them to such an extent 
that others will feel that we do not value them as we 
should. On the other hand, there is danger of looking 
at the unlovely qualities in another until we lose sight 
of the good that is in him, and grow prejudiced against 
him until it becomes hard to feel the proper love for him. 

If we realize we do not love some of the brethren as we 
should, let us cease looking at the unlovely things, and 
look for the good things, the noble qualities. Seek out 



HOW TO FERTILIZE LOVE 209 

these things, keep them before the mind, overlook the 
faults and failings and unlovely traits. Begin to show 
special kindness, make it a point to speak to these breth- 
ren kindly; show an interest in them. Watch for a 
chance to do something helpful ; go out of your way to 
do them favors. Possibly your own coldness has much 
to do with their attitude and feelings. Be as genial 
and sunshiny toward them as you are toward your closest 
friends. Some reserved natures need sunshine to open 
them up, just as do some flowers. Have you not seen 
flowers open up in the sunshine and throw their fragrance 
upon the breezes, and then, as a heavy cloud suddenly 
overspread the sky and the dark shadows fell, quickly 
close up? It is just that way with some natures. If 
we radiate sunshine, they unfold their beauties to us ; but 
if we are cold and distant, we are permitted to see only 
the rough exterior. Love begets love. If we so act that 
love in us may grow and develop, we shall be loved in 
return. 

Love can not survive carelessness, indifference, and 
neglect. These things are poison to the tender plant. 
We can easily kill the love in our hearts, or we can cul- 
tivate and increase it till its blossoms and fragrance 
are the delight of our lives. If your love is not what 
it ought to be, try fertilizing it with kindness, gentleness, 
and self-sacrifice, and take away the weeds of selfishness, 
carelessness, and indifference. Tou will find that love 
will grow and increase, and become sweeter and more 
tender with the passing days. 



210 HEART TALKS 

TALK FORTY-TWO 
HOW TO OVERCOME DISAPPOINTMENT 

You have been disappointed, haven't yon? Of course 
you have, again and again. Does it hurt very much when 
things do not go as you have planned and hoped ? Does 
it seem as if you "just can't stand it"? Some people 
can bear disappointment; they seem to have learned the 
secret of taking off the keen edge so that it does not 
hurt so much. Have you learned that secret yet? I 
fancy I hear some one say, "Oh! I wish I knew the 
secret." There is more than one part to the secret. 
You may learn it if you will ; you may get where you can 
bear disappointment and keep sweet all the time. 

Many people prepare themselves to be disappointed; 
they arrange things so that they are certain to be dis- 
appointed. They set their heart so fully upon the thing 
they wish to have or do, whatever it may be, that they 
make no provision whatever, except to carry out their 
plans exactly as they have devised them. They do not 
provide for any contingencies that may arise. Their 
plans fill their whole horizon. They can see nothing 
else; they can think of nothing else; they want it just 
that way and no other way. Thus they prepare them- 
selves to suffer keen disappointment should anything 
happen different from what they expect. This is what 
puts the sting in disappointment. Always make provi- 
sion in your plans for whatever may happen. Always 
make your promises to yourself with the proviso, "If 
nothing prevents." If you are going on a journey, say, 



TO OVERCOME DISAPPOINTMENT 211 

"If it does not rain, or if I am well, or if this or that 
does not prevent." Keep the thought in your mind 
that something may prevent, and do not get it too much 
settled as a fact that you will do what you have planned. 
Take into consideration that you are a servant, not the 
master; do not forget to put in, "If the Lord wills." 

If disappointment comes, it may be necessary for us 
to repress our feelings of dissatisfaction. If we begin 
pitying ourselves and saying, "Oh, it is too bad! it is 
just too bad!" we shall only feel the more keenly the 
hurt; and the more we cultivate the habit of self-pity, 
the more power it exercises over us. Some people have 
so yielded to the power of self-pity that whole days are 
darkened by little trifling disappointments that they 
ought to throw off in a few minutes. Nine tenths of the 
suffering that comes from disappointment has its root 
in self-pity. You have better qualities in you ; use them. 
When you are disappointed, take hold of yourself and 
say, "Here, you can not afford to be miserable all day 
because of this. ' ' Repress those feelings of self-pity, lift 
up your head, get your eyes on something else, begin 
making some new plans. Your old plans are like a 
broken dish and you can not use them any longer. All 
your fretting and brooding over them will not make 
them work out right. Take a new start, smile whether 
you feel like it or not. You have many other things 
to enjoy; do not let this one thing spoil them all. Re- 
fuse to think of your unpleasant feelings; resolutely 
shut the door against them. God will help you if you 
try. 

Another thing to learn is to submit the will and desires 



212 HEART TALKS 

to God. When our plans fail, we must submit to circum- 
stances, whether we want to or not. If we rebel, that 
will not change the circumstances, but it will change our 
feelings. The more w r e rebel, the more we shall suffer. 
The way to get rid of the suffering is to get rid of the 
rebellion. We must submit; therefore, why not do it 
gracefully? Many times we can not change circum- 
stances, no matter how much we dislike them. Resent- 
ment will not hurt circumstances, but it will hurt us. 
We need to learn the lesson of submission without rebel- 
lion — submission to circumstances and to God. 

The Lord is our Master. It is right for him to order 
our lives as he sees best. Sometimes it is he who changes 
our plans for his own purpose; and when he does this, 
the outcome is always better than the thing of our own 
choosing. If we rebel, we are rebelling against God, 
and right there lies the danger. If we are so determined 
to have our own way that we do not willingly submit to 
God's way, he may have to let us suffer. But when we 
submit and commit our ways to him, then we shall have 
the consolation and comfort of his Holy Spirit. If we 
will just learn to change a single letter in disappoint- 
ment, and spell it with an "h" instead of a "d," it will 
help take the sting out. Try it once. This is what we 
have: His appointment. Now, does not that make it 
quite different? 



THE BIG END OP TROUBLE 213 

TALK FORTY-THREE 

THE BIG END OF TROUBLE 

I once saw in a paper some verses the first lines of 
which were something like the following: 

"Trouble has a way of coming 
Big end first; 
And when seen at its appearing, 
Looks its very worst." 

Many people are always seeing trouble. They are 
"troubled on every side." When they talk, it is gen- 
erally to tell of their trouble. There are others who, 
though they have troubles, seem able to put them in 
the background, and say but little about them. They 
talk of victory, of the Lord's help, and of the joys of 
salvation. We all have our troubles; for man is "of 
few days, and full of trouble, ' ' but the greatest troubles 
any of us have, I think, are the ones that never come. 
How truly the poet has spoken in the above-quoted lines ! 
Just as he says, trouble comes big end first and fills us 
with forebodings. 

How easy it is to worry over the troubles that loom 
up in the future. "Oh, how shall we meet them!" we 
exclaim. "Oh, I do not see what I shall do!" and we fear 
and tremble before them. Nearly all the joy is excluded 
from some people's lives by the shadow of coming trou- 
bles ; but when those troubles come upon us, we someway, 
somehow, pass through them. Many of them, and some- 
times very threatening ones, disappear entirely before 



214 HEART TALKS 

we reach them; and the others, when they do come, are 
usually not nearly so bad as we had thought they were 
going to be. We always find a way through them. Many 
times we are surprized at the ease with which we over- 
come them. One brother who had been troubled all his 
life was finally enabled to see that the Lord always 
made a way through for him, and in speaking of it he 
said, ' * Things nearly always turn out better than I think 
they are going to." 

A young brother and I once had an experience that 
well illustrates how trouble works. We were going to 
meeting one night. There was such a heavy fog, that we 
could see only a few feet ahead of us. Suddenly there 
loomed before us what appeared to be a great giant. He 
came striding toward us through the fog with legs 
twenty feet long and body towering up out of sight. 
It was an awe-inspiring spectacle and at first sight 
startled us. There it was, coming right toward us in a 
most threatening manner. If we had been frightened 
and had run away, we might have had a great story to 
tell; but we continued walking on toward it, when sud- 
denly we came face to face with one of our neighbors. 
He was only an ordinary-sized man, and there was noth- 
ing terrible about him; but he was carrying a lantern, 
which swung partly behind him, and as he walked threw 
that gigantic shadow forward into the fog. The giant 
that we saw was not the real man ; it was only his shadow. 

That is just the way trouble comes. The thing we see 
is not really the approaching trouble in its true size and 
shape; it is only the shadow of it that we see. Our 
imagination pictures it as something terrible, and we 



THE BIG END OF TROUBLE 215 

worry and live in its shadow for days and weeks, only 
to find at last that we have been seared by a shadow and 
that the real trouble is only a fraction of what we sup- 
posed it would be. 

When Alexander the Great was a youth, his father 
had a war-horse that no one could ride. The youthful 
prince made up his mind to conquer the animal. When 
he tried it, he discovered that the horse was afraid of 
its shadow; so he turned its head toward the sun and 
soon had it conquered. Let us learn a lesson from this, 
and when we become afraid of the shadows of trouble, 
let us turn our faces toward the Sun of Righteousness, 
thus leaving the shadows behind us. The Scripture says : 
"The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a 
refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy 
name will put their trust in, thee: for thou, Lord, hast 
not forsaken them that seek thee" (Psa. 9:9,10). 

David said: "Though an host should encamp against 
me, my heart shall not fear. For in the time of trouble 
he shall hide me in his pavillion: in the secret of his 
tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a 
rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine 
enemies round about me" (Psa. 27:3,5,6). 

troubled soul, instead of looking at your troubles, 
look to Jesus. The more you look at your troubles, the 
worse they will appear, the more you will be troubled, 
and the less you will see of God and his help. Do you not 
know that God loves you ? do you not know that he sees 
the trouble? do you not know that he knows the best 
way to meet it, and just exactly how much grace you 
will need? Instead of worrying, try trusting; you will 



216 HEART TALKS 

find it works much better. Cultivate the habit of casting 
your care upon Jesus. Face your troubles boldly. As- 
sert in your soul: "The Lord will make a way. The 
Lord will help me through." Continue repeating it 
until it becomes real to you, and you will be surprized 
how simple trust will take you through to victory. 



SELF-MADE BARRIERS 217 



TALK FORTY-FOUR 
SELF-MADE BARRIERS 

It seems strange that any one should build barriers 
in his own way and lay hindrances in his own path. 
But that is just what many people are doing. They 
wish to accomplish something; they desire to do some- 
thing for the Lord; but some way they find themselves 
always hindered. They look back upon their lives, and 
see that they have done very little. How many times 
they have desired to be as useful as others! But some- 
way, somehow, they were not. 

The greatest hindrances to our success are often found 
within ourselves. We build up walls between ourselves 
and usefulness, and then lament because we can not 
surmount them. We look over the wall and long to be 
there, while all the time we are placing new stones upon 
the wall and building it higher and higher. 

One of the greatest of these barriers is "I can't." 
How many people have built up this wall before them- 
selves! They see work to be done, they see plenty of 
opportunities for doing effective service, but they dis- 
trust their ability. Or sometimes they are not willing to 
do their duty, and they begin at once to build a barrier 
of "I can't" between themselves and their opportunity. 
Oh yes, it ought to be done, and they would like to do it, 
but there is that wall in the way. They would gladly 
do the work if they were over the wall, but it is too 
high, so the work must remain undone. This barrier is 



218 HEART TALKS 

very easy to build, but hard to surmount. The reason it 
is hard to surmount is because the person is not willing 
to try. 

No one knows what he can do until he tries. t ' I can 't ' ' 
shuts out God's help completely. It leaves no room for 
the operation of faith ; it increases weakness. The more 
you say, "I can't/' the weaker you will feel; and the 
weaker you feel, the less courage you will have to at- 
tempt anything. It is certain that we can not do any- 
thing if we do not try. It is certain that we can succeed 
in doing whatever God wants us to do. He has said, 
"My grace is sufficient"; has he spoken truly? He says, 
"I will help thee"; does he mean it? If he does, you 
will not fail if you do your part. The trouble is, you 
do not give him a chance to help. When the opportunity 
comes and the Spirit moves you to act, you draw back 
behind the wall of " I can 't, ' ' and do nothing. Have you 
not had many chastisements because of doing thus ? Have 
you not missed many blessings? has not work gone un- 
done, and have not opportunities remained unused? 

Paul had no place for this barrier in his life. He was 
a man who did things. He believed that God would help 
him in all he undertook. "I can't" had no place in 
his life. He said, "I can do all things through Christ, 
which strengthened me." What you need is to quit 
saying, "I can't," and begin believing God. Throw 
down this self-made barrier; quit looking at your weak- 
ness; look at God's strength. Dare to do, dare to act, 
and you will succeed beyond your expectations. 

"I am afraid" is almost as common a barrier as 
"I can't." How many people shrink from duty, saying: 



SELF-MADE BARRIERS 219 

"I am afraid I will make a mistake. I am afraid I shall 
not do it right." They let this fear become a great 
wall before them ; they pile fear upon fear ; and as they 
look at them, their fears constantly grow greater. Soon 
they come to a place where these fears hedge them in 
till they dare not attempt anything. Do yon remember 
the man who said, ' ' I was afraid, ' ' and went and hid his 
lord's talent in the earth? Read his story in Matt. 25: 
24-30. See what his lord said to him, and note the result 
of his conduct. Are you doing the same thing? If so, 
what will be the result in your case ? Fear will tie your 
hands if you allow it; it will make you a profitless 
servant. 

"I don't know how" is a third barrier. Have you 
hidden from duty behind this wall ? Is this your answer 
to God when he tells you to do something? The Bible 
says that "Christ is made unto us wisdom." Again, it 
says, "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God." 
If God gives you a task to perform, he will give you the 
wisdom to do it as he wishes to have it done. Possibly 
you do not know how, but God knows, and if you try, 
understanding will be given you. If you seek wisdom 
from him, he will not fail to give it. If we always knew 
how to do things, we should not need God 's help to show 
us; but as it is, we must often dare to undertake what 
he wants us to do in his wisdom and in his strength, 
no matter whether we can see the outcome or not. God 
wants us to rely on him, and to go ahead in his strength. 

"I am not sure" is another barrier. It is well to know 
God's will definitely, but many times people want to be 
so very sure that God has no way of making them feel 



220 HEART TALKS 

sure. They do not take the assurance that he gives ; they 
want something more. Reason and good judgment tell 
them to go ahead, but they build up the barrier "I am 
not sure, ' ' and hide from duty behind it. We ought not to 
decide hastily or rashly, but we ought to decide, and then 
act upon our decision. One may cultivate the habit of in- 
decision until his usefulness is greatly hindered, and he 
is constantly tortured wondering what he ought to do. 
It would be better to make a few mistakes than to let 
indecision hold us back from everything. 

"They will think' ' is still another self-made barrier. 
The fear of being misunderstood or having remarks made 
about them is some people's greatest hindrance. "They 
will think I want to push myself ahead"; "They will 
think some one else ought to do it" ; they will think this, 
or they will think that, and so fear of what people will say 
closes the mouth and ties the hands, rendering life fruit^ 
less. The thing that ought to concern us is, "What will 
God think if we do not do it ? ' ' It is to him we must give 
account. It is his approval we should seek. If he 
approves, what others think is a small matter. Are we 
not willing to be misunderstood for Jesus' sake? 

Let us cease to build these barriers before us. Let 
us throw down what we have built. Let us decide we 
will not be held back from duty by our fears. Let us go 
forward in the strength that God will give. Let us trust 
more in God, and be confident that he will not fail us. 
Have you not read that the "man of God" was to be 
thoroughly furnished unto every good work? If you 
would pay more heed to getting your furnishings than 



SELF-MADE BARRIERS 221 

you do to your fears, you might become far more fruit- 
ful. Thus, you would be more happy here and reap a 
greater reward hereafter. 



222 HEART TALKS 



TALK FORTY-FIVE 
HOW TO WORK GOD'S JOY-MACHINE 

It was a bright, sunny morning as Brother Little joy 
walked down the street toward the railway-station. But 
somehow the brightness of the morning was not reflected 
in Brother Little joy's face. He seemed gloomy; his 
gaze rested upon the ground. As he entered the waiting- 
room, he saw a man with a smiling countenance, and he 
said to himself, "Why, there is Brother Joyful." 

Brother Joyful, seeing Brother Little joy, hastened to 
him and shook hands with him warmly and said : ' ' Good 
morning, Brother Littlejoy. What a fine morning this 
is! It seems that all nature is rejoicing in the spring 
sunshine. But, Brother Littlejoy, why do you look so 
gloomy this morning when everything else seems so 
bright?" 

"Oh," said Brother Littlejoy, "I have so many trou- 
bles and worries and perplexities, so many trials and 
difficulties, that it seems I have little joy in my life. I 
never can understand how you are always so joyful. 
You always have a smile for everybody and never seem 
to have any of the worries and troubles that other people 
have. You seem to be, as Paul said, 'always rejoicing.' 
How I wish I were as you are ! It certainly must be a 
happy life." 

"Oh," replied Brother Joyful, "I think I have my 
full share of the troubles of life. You know every one 
must expect them. We all have plenty of them, but 



HOW TO WORK GOD'S JOY-MACHINE 223 

that is not the cause of your trouble. It is not the 
number of trials and perplexities people have that keep 
them from being joyful; for some of the most joyful 
people whom I know have many cares, sorrows, and 
troubles. There is just one thing wrong in your case, 
Brother Littlejoy — you have not learned how to work 
God's joy-machine." 

" God's joy-machine!" exclaimed Brother Littlejoy, 
"why, I did not even know that he had one. What do 
you mean by his ' joy-machine'?" 

Brother Joyful laughed, and his eyes twinkled as he 
said, "Come over here and let me give you an object- 
lesson. ' ' 

So they walked over to the side of the room where two 
machines were standing side by side. 

"You see this weighing-machine," said Brother Joy- 
ful; "I will just step upon it and get weighed." 

He stepped upon the platform of the machine, but 
the indicator remained at zero. 

"Why, it seems it does not work this morning!" 

"Of course not," answered Brother Littlejoy, "you 
have to drop a penny im the slot before it will act." 

Then Brother Joyful took a penny from his pocket 
and dropped it into the slot. The indicator immediately 
flew around on the dial. 

"One hundred and seventy-two pounds," said Brother 
Joyful. "That is just what I weighed two weeks ago. 
Now let us try this one, and have some music." 

So saying, he took a disk from the rack and adjusted 
it in the machine and pressed the lever, but nothing 
moved; no music came forth. 



224 HEART TALKS 

"Why, M said Brother Littlejoy, "it will not play until 
you drop a nickel into the slot." 

1 'Oh," said Brother Joyful, "that's the way!" 

He dropped a nickel into the slot, and the machine be- 
gan sounding forth its melody. 

Sitting down on a seat near by, they listened until the 
music ceased, when Brother Joyful said : 

"You see I might have stood there on the platform 
of that weighing-machine all day and wished to have 
known my weight ever so much, but I should not have 
found it out until I had dropped a penny into the slot. 
We might have stood there by the music-box all day and 
wished to hear it play; we might have asked it ever so 
earnestly to play for us ; but until the nickel was dropped 
into the slot there could be no music. Now, God has a 
joy-machine, and it works on the plan of the slot- 
machines. You can see its picture almost anywhere in 
the Bible. But there is a real place where you can get 
the joy — real joy and there is plenty of it. This music- 
box will play a tune for each nickel dropped into it, and 
so God's joy-machine will yield you a heartful of joyful- 
ness every time you can get it to work, and it always 
works whenever you proceed right. Some people merely 
stand around and look at the box. They see others get- 
ting joy out of it and often try to get joy, but somehow 
it does not work for them. The trouble is, they do not 
put in the coin ; in other words, they do not do what is 
necessary to get the machine to work. The joy is there, 
plenty of it, enough for everybody ; there is no reason 
why people should be without it" 

"Well," sighed Brother Littlejoy, "I would give al- 



HOW TO WOKE GOD'S JOY-MACHINE 225 

most anything if I knew how to get joy like you; but 
I suppose it is not for me." 

"Right there is where you are mistaken/' said Broth- 
er Joyful. "Take another lesson from those machines 
yonder. They are set out in plain sight, and the public, 
everybody who wishes, may, by dropping coins into the 
slots, get what the machines have to give. The more coins 
dropped, the better the owners are pleased. They do not 
want the weights, they do not want the music ; these are 
provided for the public; and whosoever will may have 
his full satisfaction on certain conditions. Now, God's 
joy for his children is just the same — the more they have 
of it, the better pleased he is. The more joyful they are, 
the more joyful he is. You are mistaken in thinking 
that you are denied joy. You are not denied it any more 
than you are denied music from the music-box. If you 
know how to operate the box and are willing to pay the 
price, you may have plenty of music. It is equally 
true that if you are willing to pay the price, you can 
work God's joy-machine all you please." 

"Well," said Brother Littlejoy, "I do wish I knew 
how. And what do you mean by the price of joy?" 

"It is something many people have not learned yet," 
answered Brother Joyful ; ' ' but I will tell you the secret. 
I will tell you how I get God's joy-machine to operate. 
A specified coin is required to operate these machines, 
but there are many different things that will work God's 
machine. Sometimes one thing will do it, sometimes an- 
other, and sometimes it takes several things together. 
The first thing I try is obedience. "Whole-hearted obedi- 
ence to the Lord never fails to bring me a good supply 



226 HEART TALKS 

of joy, but that is a price many people are not willing 
to pay. They would like to have the joy, but when it 
comes to obeying God and throwing their whole soul into 
that obedience, they draw back. Often they obey re- 
luctantly, with more or less unwillingness in their hearts, 
or they want to do it just a little differently from God's 
way. That kind of obedience never makes the joy-ma- 
chine work. There are others who are willing to obey 
God, provided he will do so-and-so to suit them. Such 
people wait a long time for their joy. So long as the 
heart is closed up against God's commands, you can 
count on God keeping a lock on the joy-machine. 

c ' Sometimes, and very often too, we have to drop some 
trust into the slot. If you are doubting God and ques- 
tioning whether he means what he says or whether he 
will keep his promises, the machine will not work. When 
I want a feast of joy, I make sure that I am obeying 
God, and then I tell him that I believe him, that I trust 
myself and my all completely into his hands, and that I 
feel perfectly safe in doing so; that I believe his eye 
is over me and his everlasting arms are beneath me and 
that he will work out everything for my good and keep 
me in whatever circumstances I am placed. That makes 
the joy-machine work. Often it brings 'joy unspeakable 
and full of glory.' 

"Of course, there is something else that goes with 
obedience and trust, and that is really a part of them. 
It is submission. Unless our hearts say, 'Thy will be 
done,' the joy-bells will not ring much. If we get any 
joy, it will be only a sort of human enthusiasm. I say 
the heart must say this. It is not enough for the mouth 



HOW TO WORK GOD'S JOY-MAOHINB 227 

to say it ; the heart must not say it reluctantly nor hesi- 
tatingly, for the joy will not come until the heart sub- 
mits unreservedly. 

"Praise is another thing that makes the machine 
work; that is, the kind of praise that comes from the 
depths of the heart — the kind that comes spontaneously 
from a deep appreciation of God's goodness and mercy. 
Only those who obey God have this kind. We may shout 
God's praise loud enough to be heard two blocks away; 
but if we are not obeying him. he knows it is a pretense, 
and it will not work the machine. One may be ever so 
enthusiastic, and seem to be very happy, but if he is 
not obeying God, what he gets does not come out of 
God's joy-machine. Praise amounts to much when there 
is obedience back of it, but is nothing but noise when 
it is otherwise. 

"Sometimes it is patience and long-suffering that 
make the machine work. Sometimes when opposition 
or accusation come or when railing, abuse, scorn, or sim- 
ilar things must be borne, the joy-machine does not work 
immediately. We have to put a good supply of patience 
into the slot, and perhaps suffer a while; but when the 
proper time comes, they will make the machine work all 
right. 

"A smile or a cheery word or a bit of song, a kindly 
greeting, or almost any kindly act put into the slot may 
fill up our cup with joy when we are not expecting it. 
Sometimes nothing but enduring! a hard trial will start 
the joy flowing. One may not be very joyful during the 
trial ; for the joy generally comes at the end of the trial. 
Some people think that it would be pleasant if they 



228 HEART TALKS 

could put their trials into the slot and make the joy- 
machine work, but it does not work that way. It is the 
endurance that makes it work, and the endurance will 
not make it work until it is dropped into the slot; that is, 
until we have endured through to the end of the trial. 

"Then, I find things in my pocket-book, too, that I 
can drop into the slot to make the machine work. Money 
in the pocket-book will not make God's joy-machine work 
any more than it will make yonder machine play music. 
When people look into their pocket-books and see only 
money, the only joy it can make is a sort of selfish, 
human joy. I know of people who can see something 
besides money in their pocket-books. Why, just the 
other day Brother Sympathy looked into his pocket-book 
and saw a sack of flour there for the Widow Grimes. 
And last fall one day he looked into it and saw a whole 
ton of coal for old Mrs. Benson and an overcoat for Tom 
Jones, and a little later he found a pair of shoes for 
Johnnie Peters. Of course, he took them all out and 
delivered them to their owners. I suppose you wonder 
why his face shone so in meeting. It was because these 
things, and many more like them, kept God's joy-machine 
going. 

"Now, Brother Little joy, I have told you a few of 
the things that will make the machine work when put 
into the slot, and I am sure that if you will use them, 
your joy-cup will not be empty much of the time." 

"Well, Brother Joyful," said Brother Littlejoy, "you 
have surely taught me a lesson. If that is the way to 
get joy and if I can have it as well as anybody, I think 
I shall try to get my share in the future. But how am I 



HOW TO WORK GOD'S JOY-MACHINE 229 

to get rid of all my troubles and worries and heavy 
burdens ? ' ' 

"Why/' answered Brother Joyful, "you are work- 
ing the wrong machine ; you do not get such things from 
the Lord." 

"What do you mean?" asked Brother Littlejoy. 

"Why. Satan has a slot-machine also, and many people 
are working it overtime. Some good people are working 
it, but they do not know they are using Satan's machine. 

"Please explain yourself," said Brother Littlejoy; 
"I do not know what you mean." 

"It is this way," replied Brother Joyful; "Satan has 
a great machine, or I might say several different ones, 
and there are many different things that can be dropped 
into the slots to make them work. But none of the things 
that work God's machine will work Satan's. Now, you 
have, you say, trouble and gloom and such things. These 
come from Satan's machine. This is the way it works: 
You drop some unbelief into the slot, and you get dark- 
ness and fear; doubts, and you get gloom and despon- 
dency; disobedience, and you get condemnation; fear, 
and you get weakness ; murmuring, and you get discour- 
agement. Oh, there are many things you can get out of 
Satan's machine; and he is very glad to have you get 
them. Drop in some cross words, some f retfulness^ some 
self-will, a little pride, a little suspicion of the brethren, 
a little envy, or anything of that sort, and you will get 
a large return from Satan. 

"Now, as I said, Brother Littlejoy, you have been 
working the wrong machine, and if you. will just think 
a while, you may be able to tell what you have been 



230 HEART TALKS 

putting into the slot to get these things that you would 
like to be rid of. Perhaps it is a little disobedience or 
self-will or unbelief. Make a good prayerful search 
and find out; then stop dropping things into the devil's 
slot-machine, turn your attention to learning how to 
operate God's joy machine, and I am sure you will soon 
see a gratifying change." 

As Brother Littlejoy walked out of the door, he said 
to himself, "I think Brother Joyful is right; I will begin 
working the other machine." 



BE BRAVE 231 

TALK FORTY-SIX 
BE BRAVE 

Be brave. Only the brave are strong. The coward is a 
weakling; if he has strength, he dares not use it. We 
must be brave, for life is a battle. The forces of good 
and evil are in deadly combat. You can not avoid hav- 
ing a part in the conflict. You must fight whether you 
will to do so or not. There will be obstacles to meet 
no matter where your path may lie. You must overcome 
them or they in turn will overcome you. 

Do not dream of a time in this life when all your 
obstacles will be overcome. There is no day so bright 
but the darkness follows. There is no ship that sails 
the sea but must meet the storms. No tree sinks its 
roots so deeply into the soil but its strength is tested 
by the gale. 

Upon you will blow the piercing winds of adverse cir- 
cumstances. Things will come that you can not foresee. 
Do not shrink before them when they appear. Lift up 
your head, throw back your shoulders, look them square- 
ly in the face, and with courage born of faith meet them 
in the strength God will give you. 

Sometimes it may seem that to endure is impossible. 
Your strength may fail, but when you have come to the 
end of yourself, God will add strength, and that added 
strength will mean victory. Be brave. It is only when 
you bravely face the foe that you can know the measure 
of your strength. There can be no defeat to him who will 
not be defeated. Circumstances may prevail against you 



232 HEART TALKS 

for a time, but if you fight manfully on, the seeming de- 
feat will end in victory. 

Napoleon once fought a battle and lost. His troops 
were driven back. One of his marshals, who with his 
troops had not arrived in time for the conflict, came up 
during the retreat. Napoleon said to him, "We have 
lost the battle." "It seems so, sire," was the reply, 
"but there is still time to fight another." Encouraged 
by the words of his marshal, Napoleon rallied his troops, 
attacked the enemy, and won a great victory. 

If defeated, never count that defeat final. Attack the 
foe again and keep at it till you win. Bravery is a 
quality of mind and soul. You may be weak in body, you 
may be timid and shrinking, but if you will, your soul 
may rise above all this and wax strong in God. Courage 
is the basis of your strength. It will bring strength 
from God. But should he give you ever so much strength, 
only through courage can you make use of it. 



"BUT JESUS SENT HIM AWAY" 233 

TALK FORTY-SEVEN 

"BUT JESUS SENT HIM AWAY" 

(Luke 8:38) 

How natural it is for us to desire to be in the presence 
of the Master, to walk with him, to talk with him, and 
to behold his wondrous works! How pleasant to sit at 
his feet and learn of him ! How often we think of those 
who enjoyed walking with him over the hills of Judea 
and wish for ourselves that glorious privilege! It is 
our privilege, though our natural eyes can not see him, 
to dwell in his presence, to commune with him, and to 
learn the deep things of G-od. In the secret closet we 
often seem to be very near to him, and how our souls 
would love to remain there, but ofttimes, like the man 
out of whom the devils were cast, we are not permitted 
to remain with the Lord; he sends us away. 

When we feel ourselves apart from him, it is not al- 
ways because we have wandered away, for often he finds 
it needful to send us away for some purpose. Even 
those who were privileged to be his closest companions 
while on earth were sent away from him from time to 
time on various missions. Sometimes he sent them 
with the message, ' ' Go and tell. ' ' Obedience to this took 
them away from his presence. Their eyes no longer saw 
his mighty works, nor did their ears hear his gracious 
words. They did not have the support of his presence, 
but found themselves apart from the Master. So we must 
often go out from him with a message, and, being apart 
from him in a sense, we shall ofttimes find ourselves 



234 HEART TALKS 

needy and seeming to go on our own strength; but we 
must daily bear his message to the people, and while 
we are bearing it, what wonder if we are lonely some- 
times? Like the disciples, however, when we have spok- 
en our message, we may go back again into his presence. 

One he sent away for investigation, saying, "Go . . . 
show thyself to the priest. ' ' Sometimes we must go out 
among our enemies and be a gazing-stock for them. 
We must be the object of their criticism, of their scoffs, 
of their mockings, and all this apart from the Master. 
But shall we not bear all these things and rejoice in 
them, that when we have returned to the Master, and are 
sitting in the quiet and silence at his feet, holding sweet 
converse with him, we may know we have wrought his 
will and glorified his name? 

Sometimes he sends us forth to perils. "Behold, I 
send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. ' ' But he 
also gives us the sweet assurance, "Nothing shall by 
any means hurt you." His messengers now, as in the 
days of old, must face perils; and these perils must, in 
a sense, be faced away from the Master's presence. 

Sometimes he sends to suffering. He said of Paul, 
"I will show him how great things he must suffer for 
my name's sake." Even Christ himself was sent apart 
from the Father. He had to leave the glories of heaven 
and all that those meant, sacrifice all the honor that he 
had, with all his joys in the presence of the Father, and 
go to earth to be despised, mocked, hated, scourged, and 
crucified. Sometimes his spirit was heavy, and sorrow 
weighed him down, and at last, in the most trying hour, 
he felt his separation from his Father most keenly and 



"BUT JESUS SENT HIM AWAY" 235 

cried out, "My God ,my God, why hast thou forsaken 
me?" If it was necessary for the Son of God to go apart 
from the Father, to be sad and lonely and heavy-hearted, 
and at last feel himself forsaken, should we think it a 
strange thing if we sometimes have a similar experience ? 
How sweet to be with him in the secret closet and in 
the meetings with his saints ! How it warms our hearts 
and fills us with courage and hope ! But for our work 's 
sake we must go apart and endure, sacrifice and suffer. 
We can not always see his smiling face. But there will 
be a time when we shall forever be with the Lord. Until 
the time shall come, let us be willing to obey him, even 
though it takes all the courage and fortitude we have. 
If we find ourselves apart from him, let us not accuse 
ourselves of wandering away, if we are doing the work 
of God. Heaven will be all the sweeter because of our 
having been, in this sense, apart from the Master here, 
and we shall be the better prepared to enjoy his presence 
when he comes for us. 



236 HEART TALKS 



TALK FOKTY-EIGHT 
GETTING THE KERNEL 

One afternoon a mother with her children about her 
knees sat cracking nuts. The older children picked out 
the kernels for themselves, but the mother stopped now 
and then to pick out some for the smaller children, who 
watched with eager eyes and ate the kernels with keen 
relish. Presently a nut fell to the floor. The smallest 
child picked it up ; and as his mother went on cracking 
others, he held it up to her and in his baby language 
asked to have it cracked. He knew that there was 
something good inside of it. The shell was dry and hard. 
He might bite on it all he pleased, but the delicious 
kernel he could not get until the shell was broken. 

The Scriptures are just like that nut. If we wish to 
enjoy their richness and sweetness, we must, so to speak, 
get them cracked, and thus obtain the kernel, the inner 
hidden -meaning, which will enrich the soul. But many 
are content to know so little of what is really contained 
in the "Word! 

How full of meaning, how rich, how wonderful, is a 
single expression! One single phrase may contain 
enough, if you get the "kernel" of it, to make your soul 
bubble over with joy all day. A single word may give 
you strength to fight victoriously through a sore con- 
flict. The trouble is, people do not take the time to get 
an understanding. They are too ready to think that 
they can not understand. Learn to take a sentence, a 



GETTING THE KERNEL 237 

clause, or a word, and meditate on it. The more you 
think of it, the longer you consider it, the richer and 
fuller it will become. To illustrate my meaning I will 
take a text familiar to all and try to show you what I 
mean by getting the kernel out. "The Lord is my 
shepherd." I have often heard people quote this text 
when I knew it meant little to them. But suppose we 
study it a little and place emphasis on each part in turn. 
Every word has its "■kernel" of meaning, every word is 
full of richness and soul-satisfaction, if we can but get it 
out. 

"T~he Lord" — not just any Lord, for there are "lords 
many." It signifies one definite, particular Lord; not 
one of a number of equal lords, but one standing out 
separate and distinct from all others — the one above 
all others. This is the Lord who is "my shepherd." 
When rightly considered, this one little common word as 
here used contains a world of meaning. "We could profit- 
ably study it for hours. There is a whole sermon in it. 

1 ' The Lord is my shepherd. " It is not a man nor even 
an angel who is my shepherd ; it is the Lord, the almighty 
One — he who created all things, who stretched out the 
heavens, who upholds all by his might; the Lord who 
speaks and it is done; the Lord who wills and it comes 
to pass; the Lord unchangeable, unfailing, glorious in 
strength, perfect in wisdom and understanding. Baal 
is not my shepherd, but he who sits upon the throne of 
the heavens, whose face is as the lightning and whose 
words are as the rolling thunders, whose love is more ten- 
der than a mother's, whose touch is as soft as the kiss 
of a sunbeam, whose eye is tender with pity, and whose 



238 HEART TALKS 

heart is a fount of compassion — this is the Lord, my 
shepherd. 

"The Lord is my shepherd." Yes, he is. There was 
no questioning with the Psalmist; it was to him a posi- 
tive reality. He did not doubt it in the least. He was 
as sure of it as he was of his own existence. But he was 
not any more sure than we can be. Repeat the text 
over a few times with strong emphasis on the "is." This 
will help you get the kernel out of it. If you are a little 
doubtful, keep going over it until the "is" really means 
is to you. 

"The Lord is my shepherd." Yes, he is my shep- 
herd. It is I for whom he is caring. It is I over whom 
he is watching. It is I who can safely trust him. I may 
see him looking with favor on others, helping, blessing, 
and strengthening them, but he is my shepherd, so I may 
with confidence look for him to give me the same kind 
of treatment that he gives the other sheep. The shep- 
herd has made promises. He is my shepherd ; therefore 
I belong to him and have all claims upon him that any 
sheep has. 

"The Lord is my shepherd." To others he may be a 
judge, austere and stern. Some see him as a tyrant, 
some see him as one to be feared, but he is my shepherd. 
Being my shepherd and the "good shepherd," he will 
care for me. He will care for my safety. He will keep 
me in his fold from the ravenous beasts ; he will protect 
me. Into pastures green he will lead me. By the still 
water I shall rest secure. He is "my shepherd." 

This brings out only to a small degree the richness of 
the text, but it illustrates the manner in which we should 



GETTING THE KERNEL 239 

study the Scriptures if we are to get the "kernel"; 
but we should carefully avoid every tendency to read 
into any text what it does not teach. It is all right to 
read a chapter or a number of chapters; but you will 
get more soul-food by taking a little and studying it 
well. Study each word carefully by itself and in relation 
to the other words of the sentence. Follow this method 
of study until it becomes a habit, and it will unlock to 
you rich storehouses of heavenly truth. Your soul will 
find a feast wherever you go in the Sacred Book. There 
is in every scripture a "kernel." Do not be content 
until you get it out. 



240 HEART TALKS 

TALK FORTY-NINE 
TWO SUNSETS 

We stood on the brow of the hill gazing out over the 
valley beneath us. In the distant west the sun sank 
quietly and serenely toward the horizon. The purpling 
shadows of the hills grew longer in the valley. The 
clouds overhead, which scarcely seemed to move, were in 
broken, fluffy masses. As we gazed upon the scene, the 
sun as a mighty king in stately majesty and resplen- 
dent glory sank to his evening repose. The clouds caught 
the afterglow, looking as if a gigantic brush had swept 
across the sky scattering gold and orange and crimson 
and purple. The sun had gone, but the glory of his 
vanished presence still lingered in the beauty of the 
clouds. 

At the close of another day we stood on the same 
hill-top. The sun was hanging low. The purpling sha- 
dows lengthened in the valley. The sun did not sink in 
glory tonight, but passed out of sight into a bank of dark 
and threatening clouds. The voices of the day were 
stilled. A solemn and foreboding hush seemed over all, 
and our spirits felt the general gloom. There was no 
afterglow. There was no resplendent painting of the 
sky. All was somber and gloomy ; nature seemed to await 
what would come, in expectancy and awe. And as the 
darkness fell, we saw a gleam of lightning play across 
the distant cloud. 

How like the sunsets of some lives were these two sun- 
sets ! In my mind, unfading while I live, are the mem- 



TWO SUNSETS 241 

ories of two life-sunsets. When but seven summers had 
passed over my head, my little sister and I were at a 
neighbor's two or three miles from home. In the early 
twilight a horseman came galloping down the road bear- 
ing the fateful news that Mother was dying. Quickly 
placing me behind him on the horse and taking my little 
sister in his arms, he galloped away through the early 
night. 

When we arrived at home, we found the house filled 
with neighbors. Upon her bed lay Mother with pallid 
face. Through the hours of the night we watched by her 
bedside. About three o'clock in the morning she asked 
them to sing that old song "Shall We Gather at the 
River?" With choking voices and tear-dimmed eyes the 
little band of neighbors sang the song. The eyes of the 
sufferer gazed stedfastly above. A heavenly light beamed 
forth from her countenance, A smile of joy was upon 
her face. Presently she called the sorrowing relatives 
one by one and bade them a last good-by. I fell upon 
my knees by her bedside and sobbed out my childish 
grief. She turned and looked fondly down upon me and, 
laying her hand upon my head, said, "Charlie, be a 
good boy and meet me in heaven." 

A little while she was quiet. Then her life's sun 
sank to its rest. But the afterglow of that beautiful 
life still shines in that community. Circumstances later 
took me far away ; but after sixteen years, I again stood 
upon the scene, and over and over during my stay the 
neighbors told me of her beautiful Christian life. Many 
a time during those years when I was tempted to do evil, 
I would behold that scene again, and those last words 



242 HEART TALKS 

of my sainted mother would ring in my ears ; they stood 
as a bulwark between my soul and evil. 

The same afternoon that the message so dreadful came 
to me grandmother visited a neighbor who was drawing 
near to his life's sunset. When she came back, she 
told what passed while she was there. The man was a 
skeptic. There was no life beyond the grave for him. 
There was no hope of reunion around the throne of God. 
Grandmother spoke to him of his approaching end and 
asked him if he was prepared. His answer I shall never 
forget. Young as I was, it struck me with terrible force. 
With a look of deepest melancholy on his face he said, 
"It is taking a leap into the dark. ' ' 

A few days later he passed away, and he and mother 
lie there in the little country cemetery waiting till the 
voice of the Son of God shall call them forth. But ah, 
the difference between those two life-sunsets! One left 
the glorious hope of a Christian shining forth, tinting 
the sky with beauty; the other's sun sank into a dark 
cloud of despair, lighted only with the lurid glare of the 
lightning of God's wrath. 

Reader, what will be your life's sunset? Will it be 
serene and calm and peaceful, lighted up with glory 
from the throne of God, or will it be dark, without a 
promise or ray of hope ? You are fast hastening to that 
hour. It may be nearer than you think. If you live 
without God, you will die without God. Take a view of 
yourself now. Would you like for your life's sunset to 
find you as you now are? If not, what assurance have 
you that it will be different? Good intentions will never 
change it. Good desires will never change it. God only 



TWO SUNSETS 243 

can make you ready for that hour. Unless you seek 
him, you too will take a "leap into the dark"; for you 
there will be only the "blackness of darkness forever.' ' 
"If ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart." 



244 HEART TALKS 

TALK FIFTY 
THE SCULPTOR'S WORK 

One day years ago, as I was walking along in the 
suburbs of a city, I came to a large shed with wide-open 
doors. My attention was attracted by the sound of 
blows ; and as I came opposite the door, I saw some work- 
men at the back end of the shed busily at work. Near 
the door on a small platform stood a large irregular 
piece of stone. Standing by it was a man with a large 
chisel in one hand and a heavy mallet in the other. As 
I looked he walked up to the stone and began to knock 
great pieces off it with chisel and mallet. I paused to 
watch him, my curiosity aroused to know what he was 
doing in his apparently aimless work. 

As I watched, he continued breaking large flakes and 
pieces from the stone ; and so far as I could see, he was 
just simply breaking it to pieces. I wondered what he 
wanted such pieces of stone for. But presently he began 
to kick them out of the way as if he had no use for them, 
and so I wondered still more what he was doing. After 
a time he stepped over to his work-box, took another 
chisel and a lighter mallet, and began to knock off more 
pieces of the stone. For a long time this continued. 
I could not tell what the outcome would be. So far I 
had seen nothing but destruction. From time to time he 
changed tools; but still he cut away pieces of stone in 
the same seemingly aimless fashion. At length he began 
to cut depressions into the stone here and there. 

A long time I watched him, still wondering. At last 



THE SCULPTOR'S WORK 245 

he made a few quick strokes on one end of the stone, and 
I saw the outline of a head appear. A few more strokes, 
and I exclaimed within myself, "A lion!" I watched 
until the head became more distinct and life-like. Then 
under the quick strokes of the biting chisel, one paw 
appeared, then another; and as I watched, the whole 
figure took outline, and I knew that what seemed to be 
only an aimless work of destruction was instead the 
skilled work of a sculptor. 

I had seen only the block of stone; but within that 
block of stone he had seen the beautiful figure of the 
king of beasts. The work that seemed to me to be with- 
out purpose, now proved to have been full of purpose. 
The pieces of stone cut off were merely so much waste- 
material that hid the beautiful statue. 

I knew now that what would be left of the stone after 
the sculptor had completed his work would go to adorn 
some fine building and to be looked upon and admired 
by many people. No one had admired it in its former 
state. It was only a block of stone, unattractive and of 
little value. But it would now be a thing of beauty to 
be treasured. Yet that change could take place only 
when the sharp steel had bitten away all useless parts. 

I went away thoughtful. I realized that that was 
a great allegory of life. The great Sculptor sees in 
every human being, no matter how rough and irregular, 
great possibilities. Whereas we can see only the exte- 
rior, he sees within the potential image with which he 
would adorn his glorious building above. Man was 
created in the image of God, but that image is now 
obscured by sin and its results. And so the divine 



246 HEART TALKS 

Sculptor must do with us as the sculptor did with the 
stone. He must bring to bear upon us the sharp chisel of 
circumstances, of disappointment, of trial. It seems 
that these things will destroy us. It seems that these 
things are evil, and we shrink from them. Some think 
that God is not just toward them. Some cry out in 
pain. Some mourn and lament, Some cry to God to 
stay his hand. And many, oh, how many ! rebel. They 
can not see what it means. They feel that it is all wrong. 
Sometimes they murmur against God and their hearts 
grow bitter; but all the time the Master Sculptor with 
his sharp chisel of pain is only trying to carve in their 
natures and characters his own image. 

You want to be in his image, do you not ? You desire 
the beautiful lines of righteousness, purity, truth, meek- 
ness, faithfulness, and kindness to appear in you. You 
want to be a part of the adornment of the heavenly 
temple. If you would be not a mere block of stone 
without form or beauty, but the image of the Creator, 
you must let Pain do her work in you ; there is only one 
way. Christian character comes only through pain. If 
you shrink and murmur or if you rebel, that image may 
be marred forever. 

Think not that God will let your life be ruined. He 
wants you for the adornment of his palace. So when 
pain comes — the pain of sorrow, of bereavement, of 
temporal loss, of being reproached and having your 
name cast out as evil, of being wounded by the tongue of 
slander — in whatever form pain comes to you, hold still ; 
bear it patiently; it will work out in your life God's 
great design. 



THE SCULPTOR'S WORK 247 

Would you have patience? You must have many 
things to try your patience. Would you have meekness ? 
You can obtain it only through endurance. Would you 
have faith? You must meet and overcome many ob- 
stacles. God puts in us latent qualities of good, but 
these can be brought to view in the solid structure of 
Christian character only by long and continued chisel- 
ing. "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the 
fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange 
thing happened unto you" (1 Pet. 4:12). "Which is 
to try you" — did you ever notice that? It does not say 
which may try you or which probably will try you; it 
says, "Which is to try you." That signifies that it was 
intended to try you. It was meant for that purpose ; it 
does not come by accident. Trials are necessary. If you 
are ever to be what God wants you to be, you need trials, 
you must have them ; you can never be strong or patient 
or meek or brave or possess any other virtue God wants 
you to have unless you stand the test. "Many shall be pur- 
ified, made white, and tried." God will do the purifying; 
and he will also see that we get our "trying." "After 
that ye have suffered a while," Peter says, God will 
"make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." 

The chisel pain must do its work. Even Jesus was 
"made perfect through suffering." Let us bear it man- 
fully, yea, joyfully, knowing that it will leave its mark 
upon us, even the mark of our Lord Jesus Christ. It 
will bring out the beauty and richness of the Christ-life 
and fit us to be in His presence forever. 



248 HEART TALKS 

TALK FIFTY-ONE 
WHEN CONSCIENCES DIFFER 

Function of Conscience 

Conscience is that faculty of the mind which in its 
normal state approves of what we believe to be right 
and disapproves of what we believe to be wrong. It is 
not its function to decide what is right and what is 
wrong — that belongs to the faculty of judgment. Judg- 
ment decides; then conscience enforces that decision. 
Conscience is therefore dependent on judgment. 

How Scruples Are Formed 

Conscientious scruples are formed in three ways: 
(1) by the acceptance and belief of what is taught by 
others; (2) by what we come to believe as a result of 
our own reasoning; and (3) by a combination of these 
two. The majority of people accept what they are 
taught, or at least what appeals to them in what is 
taught, and give very little thought to the matter. In 
fact, some people are like phonograph records, merely 
retaining and giving out the impressions made upon 
them by other minds. Often people find themselves be- 
lieving things for belief of which they can give no 
reason. They can not tell why they believe them nor 
when they began to believe them. If such a belief in- 
volves morals, it regulates a person's conscience, and 
scruples for which the person can assign no cause is the 
result. Such scruples are just as binding as any others. 



WHEN CONSCIENCES DIFFER 249 

Why Consciences Differ 

Since scruples arise, not necessarily from absolute 
truth, but from what people believe to be truth, regard- 
less of whether it is, truth or not, and since people are 
taught differently and also reason differently, differ- 
ent standards of judgment result and consciences differ. 
Even the best and most conscientious men have differed 
widely from each other. There never has been a time 
when all consciences were in agreement, and we need 
never look for such a time. Such texts as "They shall 
see eye to eye," "Be ye all of one mind," etc., are some- 
times quoted as applying to this subject. The careful 
thinker, however, does not make this mistake. 

Belief or judgment is the sum of our thoughts on any 
particular subject. Those who are acquainted with the 
laws of mind are aware of the fact that there is a wide 
difference in the way different minds handle any set of 
facts. One is deeply impressed by one fact, or sup- 
posed fact, while another mind is impressed very little 
by it but is deeply impressed by some other fact. This 
may lead two minds to very different conclusions. There 
is no way to change this; even God himself can not 
change it without changing the laws of mind. So long 
as the human mind is imperfect, so long will men differ 
in judgments ; and so long as they differ in judgments, 
so long will they differ in their consciences. And so 
long as people are taught differently and are brought 
under different influences, so long will they differ in 
conscientious scruples. The Bible takes this for granted, 
and shows how to prevent disastrous clashes resulting 
from such a state (Romans 14 and elsewhere). 



250 HEART TALKS 

This difference was seen in the early church on the 
question of keeping the law. The great majority of 
the Jews had their consciences so bound to the law that 
it was impossible for them to break away from it. They 
could by no means understand how any one could be 
saved and not keep the law. Though God revealed to 
the apostles that the law was done away, multitudes of 
the Jewish Christians were never able to adjust their 
consciences to the changed conditions, but held to the 
law and were held by it in conscience to the end of their 
lives. The same principle is seen working through the 
ages. The Friends, or Quakers, because of the teach- 
ing of their founder, had the strongest of scruples 
against going to war; while John Wesley approved of 
the Methodists' joining the English army and it is said 
offered to raise a regiment himself. No one can ques- 
tion that both were equally devoted men of God and 
equally sincere. Others have differed just as much on such 
questions as slavery, holding office, wearing the head-cov- 
ering for women, shaving, and a thousand other subjects. 

The same teaching will not make all consciences the 
same, for different minds are differently impressed by 
the same teaching. Not only so, but past influences 
linger. Take one who has been brought up under strong 
Sabbatarian influences and another who has not. Teach 
them both what the Bible says on the subject, and the 
effect is likely to be very different. 

Change of Conscience 

Conscience does not readily change; it is loathe to 
give up what it has once held. It clings to its scruples 



WHEN CONSCIENCES DIFFER 251 

even after the mind's opinion changes, and in conse- 
quence the person can not feel easy sometimes even 
though he is fully convinced that what he is doing is 
proper and right. This, instead of being a bad feature, 
is a most excellent one. It makes conscience a bulwark 
against evil. There is great danger in trying to force 
conscience. Never do what you can not do with an 
easy conscience. If you see that it is your privilege to 
do certain things and that such would not be displeas- 
ing to God, but your conscience still in some way pro- 
tests against it, do not be in a hurry ; do not force your 
conscience. If you do, it will result in loss of spiri- 
tuality and in real damage to your conscience. Wait 
till the truth you see mentally, becomes a part of your 
inner consciousness and your conscience becomes suf- 
ficiently used to it not to be violated nor wounded by it. 
I am persuaded that some suffer spiritually for having 
forced their consciences to adopt something when they 
could not do so without a protest. Let us guard con- 
science; it is a precious jewel. 

Effect When Consciences Differ 

On any subject our own views always appear to us 
the best and clearest; we can not understand why any 
one else should view the subject in a different light from 
that in which we view it. It seems clear to us. The 
arguments for our view look so unanswerable that we 
can not help feeling that if the other fellow looked at 
it right, he would see it just as we do. It seems unex- 
plainable that the arguments which convince us do not 



252 HEART TALKS 

convince him. Of course we are right! Do we not 
see as clearly as it is possible to see? 

We can not keep things from looking thus to us ; but 
right here we face danger. We are likely to belittle 
another's reasoning and to think that he is our inferior 
mentally or to think that he is not honest or that he is 
a compromiser. If such feelings are given place to, 
they will show themselves in our behavior. I have often 
seen people do things that my conscience would not per- 
mit me to do. I could not feel easy. Seeing such a 
thing, naturally tends to create suspicion and lack of 
confidence. We can not but feel that our conscience is 
right in the matter; and it is natural to think and feel 
that if we are right those who take greater liberty are 
wrong. On the other hand, if our conscience is broader 
than our brother 's and we can do in all good conscience 
toward God what his conscience would not permit at all, 
there is a tendency for us to despise him as being nar- 
row and extreme and fanatical. 

Attitude to Others 

We must often meet such conditions. How shall we 
meet them? My conscience is to me a standard; my 
brother's conscience is to him a standard. These stand- 
ards differ. What shall be done? Which standard 
shall prevail? Where the Bible speaks, it of course is 
always the standard, and its voice should be final; but 
it is not of such things that I speak. Of things that are 
properly and of necessity matters of conscience, my 
conscience is my standard ; but shall I attempt to make 
it a universal standard? I can but feel that it ought 



WHEN CONSCIENCES DIFFER 253 

to be and that all my brethren ought to feel and do as 
I do; but if they do not, can I feel good or retain con- 
fidence in them? And if one conscience is to be the 
standard, does not my brother feel that his should be 
that standard? Both can not be, for they differ. 

Right here is a delicate point. I am going to suffer 
and my brother is going to suffer; for he can not make 
my conscience his standard nor can I make his con- 
science my standard. Nor can a third party make either 
of our standards his standard. The fact is, my con- 
science is a standard for me, but for no one else; and 
my brother's conscience is a standard for him only. 
The moment I try to bind my conscience on another as 
the law of his life, I transgress against him; and when 
he tries to make his conscience the law of my life, he 
wrongs me. A recognition of this fact is absolutely 
necessary. If we are to maintain right relations, we 
must give to our brother the same liberty to follow his 
conscience as we wish in following our own, and this 
without losing our confidence in him or our esteem for 
him. Grod's work has suffered untold hurt in the past, 
when the conscience of one or a number has been made 
the standard for all. 

There are those whose consciences will let them do al- 
most anything. These show that they have no con- 
science toward God and are to be dealt with from the 
standpoint of the Bible, not according to conscience. 
Where consciences differ, there is need of mutual con- 
cessions. I must retain confidence in my brother, and 
he in me. I must keep kindly feelings toward him, 
and he the same toward me. Both have need of patience 



254 HEART TALKS 

and forbearance. We must not judge each other. We 
must keep in view the thought that we are both sons oi 
the one great Father and that each is responsible to 
him. I must not let my narrow conscience rob him of 
his liberty, and should not let his liberty become a 
stumbling-block to me. There is only one thing that 
can prevent friction, and that is love. Where people 
"love as brethren," they are ready to sacrifice for each 
other. Love will make our words and our feelings to- 
ward each other tender. It will help us retain con- 
fidence and sympathy and brotherly kindness, and we 
can live in peace and unity, even though our con- 
sciences do differ. 



THE HELPLESSNESS OF THE GOSPEL 255 

TALK FIFTY-TWO 

THE HELPLESSNESS OF THE GOSPEL 

Much has been said about the power of the gospel. 
It is "the power of God unto salvation." By it mil- 
lions have been redeemed and cheered and comforted 
and inspired. Others have been warned in tones of 
thunder to awakened consciences. It has been the great- 
est civilizer known. But however great its power and 
influence, however wonderful its accomplishments, there 
are conditions under which it is pitifully helpless, under 
which it can do nothing to help the perishing masses. 
You may take your Bible into a heathen land or to a 
race of another language, and though all its truth, its 
promises and warnings, its light and glory, are within 
its lids, yet it is dumb. It speaks not to them. They 
perish all around it. They remain in darkness, when 
light is there, heavenly, glorious light. Not a ray reaches 
them. It is helpless. It is voiceless; it speaks not to 
them its story of love. In your own home it may lie 
closed and silent. Visitors come and go, but it helps 
them not, Your children hear not its voice. Your 
neighbors receive not its counsel, warnings, nor prom- 
ises. How helpless it is ! Oh the many dumb Bibles in 
our land ! If they only had tongues, what messages they 
would speak to the people ! You have a tongue. Do you 
not often use it in a way that is of little profit either 
to you or to others? The Bible has no tongue to use. 
Will you lend it yours? Will you let it speak its mes- 
sage with your tongue? Must your neighbors be lost 



256 HEART TALKS 

because your Bible has no voice? brother, sister, let 
your Bible be no longer dumb. Give it a tongue. There 
are hearts all around you needing its truth. Will you 
speak for it? A silent and voiceless Bible — what can 
be more helpless? 

Again, if a tongue be lent it and its message be 
spoken and repeated again and again, what can it do if 
it is not believed ? It is the power of God in this world 
only to "them that believe." If we will not believe it, 
it can do us no good. It can not save or comfort or 
heal unless it is believed. Will you give it a believing 
heart? Unless you do, it is absolutely powerless to help 
you. Oh, how helpless is an unbelieved Bible! 

And though it have a voice and speak ever so clearly, 
what can it do if the ears be closed against it? If "hav- 
ing ears, we hear not," but close our minds and hearts 
against its voice, it will profit us nothing. It can help 
not the least. Oh, give it a listening ear and heart ! 

The Bible has no hands. It can not reach out to the 
needy nor go about doing good. It can not clothe the 
naked nor feed the hungry. Why not give your hands 
to the gospel's use, that it may not be longer helpless? 

It has no feet. It can not go from place to place, but 
must remain supine wherever it is put. It is a poor 
"shut-in." Who will pity its helplessness and give it 
feet, that it may go to the nations? 

It has no money. It is as poor as a pauper. It can 
not pay its way to the yearning, hungry souls that await 
its coming. It needs its way paid to India, to Africa, to 
China. It needs to go to the ends of the earth. You can 
send some of its messages afar for a few cents, and 



THE HELPLESSNESS OF THE GOSPEL 257 

perchance thus help it to reach a soul ready and wait- 
ing that will otherwise be lost. There are tongues ready 
to speak for it; there are feet ready to run with it; 
but who will pay its fare ? Have you money and houses 
and cattle and lands, and yet are not helping this help 
less gospel on its mission of mercy ? Must it fail to reach 
the people, that you may consume your means for the 
gratification of the flesh? Might not the money you 
have spent the past year needlessly, have sent the gospel 
to a number of lost souls ? 

Oh! pity the poor Bible, which has no tongue, no 
hands, no feet, and no money! How will it reach the 
lost? Give it your hands, your feet, your tongue, your 
pocketbook. Behold the countless throngs going down 
the broad way. Listen to the groans of the lost. Be- 
hold your own friends and neighbors and perhaps your 
own kindred on the way to hell. Can you longer let 
the gospel be helpless and voiceless? What would you 
answer the lost in the judgment were they to say to 
you, "You had the Bible, but you did not tell us its 
truths. You did not carry or send it to us, and so we 
perish"? What will you do to help the Bible to save 
the world ? The time is short. The shades of the even- 
ing are falling around us. "The night cometh, when 
no man can work." 



258 HEART TALKS 



TALK FIFTY-THREE 
HE CARETH FOR YOU 

''Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for 
you" (1 Pet. 5:7). God cares for us in the sense of 
having a personal interest in us. We are the work of 
his hands, and as such he is interested in our prosper- 
ity. He watches over the development of our lives; he 
notes every step of progress. The one who plants a 
flower, waters it, cares for it, and watches the develop- 
ment of each tiny shoot and bud, cares more for that 
flower and has a deeper interest in it than has the one 
who merely stops for a few minutes to admire its full- 
blown beauty and to enjoy its fragrance. To the one it 
is only one plant out of many, but to the other it has 
a special meaning and attraction and worth, because its 
bloom and fragrance are the result of his labor, care, 
and patience. It is his plant. So it is with God. He 
gave us our being; he has nourished and protected us 
and watched us develop day by day; he is interested in 
us and desires our lives to bloom and send forth a 
fragrance of trueness and purity all around. Let us 
so live that he will not be disappointed in us. 

He cares for us because he created us for his glory 
and to fill a place in his eternal kingdom. He cre- 
ated us, not merely that we might have an existence, 
but for a purpose for himself. He wants us to make 
a success of our lives, not simply for our own advantage, 
but to fill the place for which he created us for his 



HE CARETH FOR YOU 259 

purpose and glory. And because of this he will use 
every endeavor to help us succeed in our lives. 

He cares for us in the sense that he loves us, "The 
Father himself loveth you." "I have loved thee with 
an everlasting love." "God so loved the world." He 
has a deep and abiding affection for every soul, and 
even when we stray away from him into the depth of 
sin, his heart yearns over us as a mother over her erring 
boy, only his love is stronger than a mother's. He sends 
his servants out to seek the lost, and his Spirit to plead 
with them. Sinner, he loves you. Though you have 
grieved him and have repelled his Spirit over and over 
again, yet his eye beams with pity, his heart is tender 
with love, and his arms are outstretched toward you to 
welcome you to his embrace. 

If he thus cares for the rebellious and neglectful sin- 
ner, how much does he care for his own obedient, loving 
children! How tender his love! Sometimes in a dark 
and troublesome hour when his face seems hidden, we 
may feel as did the disciples when they cried out in their 
distress, "Carest thou not that we perish?" Ah, he 
did care. At once he arose and rebuked the elements 
and brought the disciples safely to the land. Yea, he 
does care. "He careth for you." His help may some- 
times seem delayed, but it will come and just at the time 
to be most effective. In your joys and victories and sea- 
sons of refreshing he cares for you and also in the time 
of trial, of persecution, of heaviness and longing, and 
of bitterness of soul. In it all he cares, and he will 
bring you through when he sees the soul refined and 
fitted for his purpose. "He careth for you." Believe 



260 HEART TALKS 

it. Let your soul exult in it and shout it aloud. Or if 
you can in your sorrow only whisper it, let your heart 
still say : "He loves and he cares. I will trust him and 
be content." 

Again, he cares for us in the sense of taking care of 
us. His care is proved in his making so beautiful a 
world to be our home. The flowers, the fruits, the grains, 
the grasses, the animals, the sunshine, the winds, the 
rains, and all were made to minister to man's need, 
comfort, and happiness. For us these exist. That we 
may be fed, he causes the earth to bring forth bounti- 
fully. That we may be clothed, he makes the cotton 
and the flax to grow out of the soil, the wool upon the 
sheep, and causes the silkworm to spin its glossy house. 
That we might be warmed, he made the coal, the gas, 
and the forests. That we might be protected, he made 
the stone, the wood, the iron, and the clay that we might 
have houses. 

He cares also for our bodies, that we may have health. 
He gives us pure crystal water to quench our thirst and 
cool us in fever, balmy oxygen-laden air to build us up, 
and countless other blessings. Above all this, he is 
himself to us a Great Physician whose word heals our 
suffering bodies and takes us out of the grasp of death. 

He cares for us spiritually, giving us his grace to help 
in every time of need — to shield in temptation, to 
strengthen in trial, to make strong in adversity, cour- 
ageous in danger, and valiant in conflict. 

Truly, he cares for us. Let us doubt and fear no 
more, but commit ourselves to him, knowing that he 
will "in no wise fail" us. 



THREE TESTS OF LOVE 261 

TALK FIFTY-FOUR 

THREE TESTS OF LOVE 

' ' Wherefore show ye to them, and before the churches, 
the proof of your love" (2 Cor. 8: 24). Love is capable 
of demonstration. Where it really exists, it will mani- 
fest itself. It need not be made known by mere asser- 
tion. We are told to love not in word or in tongue, but 
in deed and in truth. In these days there are many who, 
like some of old, show much love with their mouths 
while their hearts are far from God. The test of our 
love is not how much we talk about it, but how much 
we manifest it in our lives. There are three tests of 
love, which never fail to show exactly just how much we 
love. Let us consider them in order. 

I How Much We Serve 

We are told that Jacob loved Rachel so much that 
he served seven years for her, and that those years 
seemed to him as only a few days. The amount of our 
love to God is proved by our willingness to serve him. 
If there is in us a disposition to do only what we please 
to do, and if we can, to disregard any of the known 
will of God, it is a clear evidence that we do not love 
him. It matters not what we profess, if we are not 
willing to put obedience to God's will before everything 
else, it is from lack of love. 

Love makes people willing-hearted. There are many 
things to do; there are many ways to serve; and love 
prompts us to serve wherever possible. If the work of 



262 HEART TALKS 

God stands first in our love, our hands will always be 
ready for service. I have attended many camp-meet- 
ings, where I have noticed those on whom the labor of 
the meeting fell. Everybody was willing to sit in the 
meeting and enjoy the good sermons and take all the 
blessings they could get ; but when it came to the labor 
and responsibility connected with the meeting, willing- 
ness suddenly disappeared, and a greater part of the 
burden fell upon the ministers and a. few consecrated 
brethren and sisters who loved God and the people 
enough to go to work. I have often had occasion to call 
for volunteers for service, and have often found that 
many people who can say "Amen" and "Praise the 
Lord," and perhaps shout in meeting, become* suddenly 
silent when it comes to volunteering for work. The test 
of their love proves that love is wanting. 

In a certain camp-meeting there was a young man who 
professed to be saved, and was saved, so far as I know. 
I noticed, however, that when others were busy at work 
in some necessary service, he was always standing back 
a mere onlooker. One day about the middle of the meet- 
ing this young man came to the altar, and when asked 
what was the trouble he said that he had backslidden. 
Being asked what he had done, he said that he did not 
know. I said to him: "I think I know your trouble. 
Whenever there has been a meeting, you have been 
ready to go and enjoy all you could of it; whenever a 
meal is ready, you are always ready for it; but when 
there is any work to be done, you are never ready. 
Now," I continued, "when there is need of water at 
the boarding-house, you take a bucket and go for it; 



THREE TESTS OF LOVE 263 

when there is wood needed, get an ax and use it, or 
when there is anything to do in which you can help, 
be ready for it and do your part. ' ' He took my advice, 
and from that time on he seemed to be a different man. 
The reason many people get so few blessings is because 
they do not love enough to serve. 

There are duties for all. There are opportunities 
everywhere. Every one of them is a test of love, Brother, 
sister, how does your love stand the test? Love will 
not grumble; it will not complain; it will not shrink 
from service. Do you love as fervently as you ought? 

II How Much We Sacrifice 

The mother who loves her child thinks no sacrifice 
too great for it. Even her life will she give for it, if 
need be. The man who loves his country will, if the need 
should arise, count no sacrifice too great. He who loves 
God as truly as the mother loves her child or the pa- 
triot loves his country is willing to sacrifice for God. 
Abraham proved his love by not withholding his son. 
He offered him freely in obedience to God's command. 
Paul loved, and as a result he counted not his life dear 
to himself so that he might do the work of God. Christ 
so loved the world that he sacrificed everything for our 
salvation. 

We say that we love this glorious gospel; we say we 
desire to see it spread to the ends 6f the earth ; but how 
much do we love it compared with our love of self? 
Do we love it more than self, or equal with self, or far 
less than self? Many persons spend willingly and even 
lavishly for self who give sparingly and reluctantly to 



264 HEART TALKS 

God. They spend more for their pleasures than they 
give. Some spend more for candy than they give to mis- 
sions. Some spend more for gasoline for pleasure-riding 
than they give to all causes. In fact, some spend so 
much on their own selfish desires that when a need of 
God's work is presented they can truly say, "I can not 
give much." They might feel disposed to give if they 
had anything to give, but are they willing to deny 
themselves of some self-gratification in order to have 
something to give ? There is the test of love that proves 
its real direction — whether it runs out selfward or God- 
ward. If we love God and souls as much as we love self, 
Ave can spend money for them just as willingly and with 
as little reluctance or regret to see it go as if it were 
being spent for ourselves. If we can not spend for God 
and his work more willingly than for self, it is because 
we do not love him more than self. If we do not get 
more pleasure out of giving than we do out of consum- 
ing, we may well question both the amount and quality 
of our love and its direction. Often the work of God 
must go on crutches because of lack of means while 
professors live in luxury. 

There is no way to avoid the issue. There is plenty of 
money so that all the work of the church could be prop- 
erly financed and no undue burden rest upon any. The 
fact is, there are too many whose love is wanting in that 
quality which draws out their hearts into the work of 
God until they are willing to sacrifice for it. It is 
true that there are many who do love and who prove 
it by their sacrifices. But it is just as true that there 
are many others who do not deny themselves and will not 



THREE TESTS OF LOVE 265 

even from a sense of duty, to say nothing of making 
willing sacrifices through the prompting of love. 

It is time that we heard more of the practical side 
of love preached from the pulpit and that people who 
profess salvation and at the same time manifest an in- 
difference toward the salvation of souls and the work 
of the church in general should not be left to drift along 
in coldness and be lost at last, A sacrificing person or 
a sacrificing church will be spiritual if the sacrifice is 
prompted by love. People who are willing to serve 
and sacrifice rarely backslide. 

Ill How Much We Endure 

Christ proved his love by enduring the scoffs and 
ill-treatment of the people and the shame and suffer- 
ing of the cross. By this he proved his love to be real. 
If our love is genuine, as was that of the saints of old, 
we can rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer for 
His name. Paul endured all things for the elect's sake, 
that they might be saved. If we can not endure the lit- 
tle persecutions, the unkind words, the sneering smiles, 
the scoffs and jeers, of the unbelieving world, is it not 
because our love lacks fervency ? The early church took 
joyfully the spoiling of their goods because the}^ loved 
their Lord far more than they loved their goods. God's 
ministers in all ages have endured hardships and perils 
and have suffered in a thousand ways without faltering, 
because they loved souls as God loves them. 

Sometimes people quote the text, "We know that 
we have passed from death unto life because we love 
the brethren"; but if these same brethren do something 



266 HEART TALKS 

that does not please them, they are offended and grieved 
and are full of complaint and murmuring, and it is hard 
for them to be reconciled to their brethren. Is the love 
of such people genuine? Does it really prove that they 
have passed from death unto life ? Many think that the 
preacher ought to be willing to endure almost anything 
for the cause (and so he should), but they do not con- 
sider that the same love in them will give them the same 
spirit of endurance and willingness to suffer as it 
gives to the minister. Love that can not endure hard- 
ness, misrepresentation, neglect, and such things, and 
still be sweet and strong, needs to be increased 

Love makes service sweet, sacrifice easy, and meek en- 
durance possible. Love enriches, ennobles, and blesses. 
It sweetens the bitter cup ; it lightens the heavy load. It 
strengthens the faltering soul. Let us, therefore, see 
that we have fervent love toward God, toward each 
other, and toward the lost world. 



TWO WAYS OF RISING 267 

TALK FIFTY-FIVE 
TWO WAYS OF RISING 

The human passions are like water: left uneonfined, 
their tendency is always downward. You can carry 
water upward or force it upward with a pump, but in 
order to do so you must confine it in a vessel or a pipe. 
The moment it gains its liberty by breaking through 
the barrier, it rushes downward. So the human pas- 
sions and propensities must be kept confined by the 
will. When they are not, they carry the whole man 
downward. By the power of our wills we may raise 
ourselves to higher altitudes, to greater heights of mor- 
ality ; but the moment the will weakens so that passion 
breaks through, the course is immediately downward. 
Water is raised to heights by great labor; so we reach 
morality only by the greatest efforts, and maintain it 
only by careful watchfulness and stedfast purpose. 

But the sun, with its warming rays, smiles down upon 
the water, and the water rises in unseen vapor and 
floats into the atmosphere. There is no struggle and 
terrible compulsion and repression, but only silence, 
calmness, and peace. When it rises from the muddy 
pool, the stagnant pond, or the filthy gutter, it rises 
pure and clean, leaving behind the mud, the slime, the 
offensive odors, the noxious germs and bacteria. So 
when the sunshine of God's love shines upon and warms 
our hearts, it lifts us up from all the slime and filth of 
sinful habits, clean and pure, into heavenly places in 
Christ Jesus. 



268 HEART TALKS 

So long as the water is kept warm, it floats onward ; 
but when it cools, it condenses and falls back again, per- 
haps into the same slimy pool. Likewise, so long as our 
hearts are kept warm by the rays of God's love shining 
therein, our pure moral state is easily maintained; but 
when we lose the warmth of that love, lower things be- 
gin to attract vis and soon we fall down toward the for- 
mer level. Keep your heart ever turned toward the 
Sun of Righteousness, cherish its soul-warming rays of 
love, and you will float on the atmosphere of heaven far 
above the things of sin. 



GETTING EVEN 269 



TALK FIFTY-SIX 
GETTING EVEN 

"I'll get even with that fellow if it takes ten years." 
Thus declared a man about another who had wronged 
him, as his eyes flashed with passion and his teeth set 
firmly with resolve. In his heart he determined to do 
his enemy as great an injury as his enemy had done him. 
6 c Get even, ' ' I thought ; ' ' what does it mean to get even ? ' 5 
Then appeared before my mind's eye a view of the 
various classes of humanity, each person in the scale of 
morality where his life had placed him. I saw the 
Christian on % God's plane of holiness and truth. Far 
below him stood the moral though unchristian man, and 
down, down, step by step, my mental eye beheld man to 
the lowest depth of moral degradation. 

"Vlile and wrong diejeds always degrade man to- a 
lower state. Every evil deed, word, or thought lowers 
us in moral being. If some one has done evil toward 
us, he has lowered himself by that act; and for us to 
decide to "get even" by a similar act toward him is for 
us to decide that we will lower ourselves to his level. 
To "get even" means to get on the same level. It means 
to abase and degrade ourselves. If we "get even," we 
are as bad as he, and worthy that others look upon us 
with the same feelings with which we regard him. If 
you want to get even with any one, do not choose some 
one below you, but some one above you in moral attain- 
ments, and labor to attain to his height, instead of the 



270 HEART TALKS 

other's depths. This will ennoble you, make you bet- 
ter, and be worthy of a reasoning being. 

The principle of revenge has no part in Christianity. 
God refuses to let us avenge ourselves, no difference 
what the provocation nor how good the opportunity for 
vengeance. He says, "Dearly beloved, avenge not your- 
selves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is writ- 
ten, Vengeance is mine; I will repay saith the Lord. 
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, 
give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals 
of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but over- 
come evil with good" (Rom. 12:19-21). "Recompense 
to no man evil for evil" (verse 17). "See that none 
render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that 
which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men" 
(1 Thess. 5: 15). When one who is a Christian so far 
forgets what is right that he stoops to take vengeance, 
he is then upon the level of the sinner who did him evil, 
and is himself a sinner, and is fallen from his high posi- 
tion to the level of sin. God forbids us to threaten to 
"get even" with any one. "Say not, I will do so to 
him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man 
according to his work" (Prov. 24:29). 

The spirit of Christianity is to render good for evil, 
blessing for cursing, love for hatred. The blood of 
Christ will wash away the "get even" disposition from 
us; and until we are thus cleansed, let us not presume 
to call ourselves by that holy name of Him who "when 
he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he 
threatened not ; but committed himself to him that judg- 
eth righteously." Good is stronger than evil. Evil 



GETTING EVEN 271 

used against evil, begets more evil; but we may "over- 
come evil with good." 

I once asked a man why he did not become a Chris- 
tian. He replied that there were so many in his busi- 
ness who were trying to get the financial advantage of 
him that he could not do right, but must do the same 
with them or he could not "keep even." 

Blut let us see what it really means to be ' ' even. ' ' If 
a man lies about me, and to get even I lie about him, 
then we are even. He is a liar and I am a liar — both 
on the same plane. He is going to the judgment to give 
account for his lie and so am I for mine — even again. 
If he does not repent, he will go to hell for lying ; and 
if I do not repent, I shall go, too. Yes, we may get 
even, but I would rather not be so. If a man beats me 
out of ten dollars, to get even I must watch my chance 
to do likewise to him. If I do not try to beat him 
to get even, he may have more money in his pocket 
than I ; but if I turn the matter over for settlement to 
Him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay," 
when the final account is rendered, I shall be ten dol- 
lars or more ahead. 

Let us not endeavor to be "even" with our enemies 
by taking vengeance, but let us do right and win them 
to the gospel by overcoming evil with good. Let us get 
even by raising others up instead of lowering ourselves 
to their sinful level. Be a blessing to all. Set a right 
example. 



272 HEART TALKS 



TALK FIFTY-SEVEN 
DO YOU KNOW YOURSELF? 

Every one desires success, but not every one succeeds. 
In any line there are certain things on which success 
depends. Success can be built only on a properly and 
carefully laid foundation. Those who desire to be Chris- 
tians desire to be successful in the Christian life. Those 
who are called to work for God desire to be successful 
workers. Jesus said to Martha, "One thing is needful." 
There is generally one basic principle on which all else 
must be built. If this is overlooked or neglected, partial 
or complete failure is certain. Many attempts are fail- 
ures because of being begun at the wrong place. In math- 
ematics we must master the rudiments before we can 
compute the orbits of the planets. In music we must 
learn tones and relations of tones before we can pro- 
duce the exquisite harmonies of the master. In astron- 
omy, we must know something of our little home-planet 
before we can launch out into the heart-stirring im- 
mensities of space. Before we can rightly know God 
we must know ourselves. 

The animal instinctively knows that the gnawing 
pain in its stomach is a hunger for food, and immedi- 
ately seeks to satisfy it. But the man who does not 
know himself, who does not stop to consider and analyze, 
feels an unrest, a yearning, a hungering within his soul, 
and knows not why or what it is. He tries worldly pleas- 
ures ; but they only partially satisfy, and at last render 



DO YOU KNOW YOURSELF 273 

the case more serious than before. He tries all the 
remedies that he can find for his soul-hunger, but per- 
forms no cure, simply because he has not properly diag- 
nosed his case. It is only when he knows that the 
cause of his unrest is soul-hunger for God and the 
bread of life, that he begins to try to satisfy himself 
properly. Women, and many of them professors, try 
to satisfy this craving by decking themselves with gold 
and gems and fine array, with the plumage of birds 
and the skins of beasts. Men try to satisfy it in the 
pool-room, by plunging into the muddy waters of the 
political sea, or by accumulating money and by the 
follies of life. As food is the only thing that properly 
satisfies the hunger of the body, so God is the only 
thing that satisfies the hunger of the soul. When people 
come to know that this hunger is for God, they begin to 
search for him if haply they may find him. The trou- 
ble is that people look at Christianity in the abstract, 
as a something apart from themselves, whereas it is a 
vital part of every spiritually normal man or woman. 
The saying of the old philosopher, "Know thyself,' ' 
proves his wisdom. True wisdom comes only by first 
understanding ourselves so as to know our relation to 
other things. 

One of the things that must constantly be preached 
to the sisters is proper modesty and plainness of apparel. 
How often do we meet with those who once were plain 
who now dress almost as the world! Why is it that 
these things are put on ? Because there is a longing in 
the heart. They do not understand what this longing 
really is nor what will satisfy it. They interpret the 



274 HEART TALKS 

unrest of soul as being a desire for these things, yet 
when put on they do not satisfy. 

No, sister, it is not the flowers on your hat nor the 
feathers nor fine dresses, that you are really desiring. 
You may think it is, but only because you can not 
rightly interpret your soul-cry. No, brother, it is not 
that fine team nor that other eighty acres that your 
soul really desires. Both your souls are crying for 
more of God. Give them a chance to get what they are 
hungering for, and you will be surprized to find out 
that you did not really want these other things after 
all. If you find in you a desire, or what seems to be a 
desire, for anything not in accord with spiritual pros- 
perity, there is a real desire in your soul which you do 
not realize. Sister, if you pass the millinery-store and 
see a display of worldly hats and something seems to 
say, "Just to be honest, I should like to have one of 
those," your soul is hungry. Go home and feed it. Go 
to your closet, fall upon your knees, and get a good 
feast of the "bread from heaven" and "water of life," 
and then go back and look in that window again and 
see if there is any hunger. There is not a bit, is there 1 
Do you not see you were mistaken? Your soul wanted 
more of God, and you did not know yourself any bet- 
ter than to think it was a fine hat you desired. 

Or you, brother, if you feel as if you wanted people 
to notice you more and say nice things about you and 
tell how talented you are, you are hungry. Go and give 
your soul a feast of heavenly manna — not just a taste; 
eat plenty, feast on it. Now come back in the crowd, 
and when that man goes to praising you, it makes you 



DO YOU KNOW YOURSELF 275 

feel ashamed. You did not really know what you did 
want, did you? 

And you who desire to be a big preacher and stir 
the world and be like a mighty man of war among the 
people. You are getting real hungry. It will take a 
lot to fill you up, but God has plenty, and you had bet- 
ter get to the table quickly. When you get full, though, 
you will find you do not really want to be a big 
preacher at all, have not the least desire to be. Why, 
you will feel so small, just as if you wanted to hide 
behind the cross where nobody would see you at all. 

After we have a good, square meal on divine food, 
any sort of worldliness will "go against our stomachs," 
and we can not bear it, sight or smell. 

And you there, you want to have your own way in 
everything, do you not? Your judgment is so good 
that all the brethren must accept it and act upon it or 
all the sweetness in your soul turns to vinegar right 
away. Go and eat some of the "honey out of the rock." 
Do not come back until you get enough. When you get 
filled up once, you will wake up in the night and catch 
yourself saying, "Not my will, but thine be done." 

God is what you want. Everything else is husks. 
You can eat husks all you please and not get satisfied. 
You may get a bad case of spiritual dyspepsia or die 
altogether. Better find out what you really do want, 
and then "eat in plenty and be satisfied." Do not try 
fine dresses and rings and flowers and feathers and 
houses and lands and honors for soul-diet. "Eat ye 
that which is good." Get acquainted with yourself 
enough to know that all the real desire of your heart 



276 HEART TALKS 

is for godliness, and that these longings for other things 
are only symptoms of your need of more God and that 
they will disappear at once when the soul is filled with 
the "bread of life." 



BALKERS . 277 

TALK FIFTY-EIGHT 
BALKERS 

No man likes a balky horse. It is a nuisance. It 
may be fine in appearance, strong, and able to do a great 
amount of work, and it may pull along very well on 
good roads; but when a mud-hole is encountered, it is 
likely to stop, and absolutely refuse to budge, regard- 
less of the efforts of the driver, just when it should get 
down to business. 

Some people are as balky as some horses. When 
everything goes to please them, they are "good Chris- 
tians" and often seem very zealous; but as soon as some- 
thing does not go just to suit them, they draw back in 
the harness and refuse to pull a pound. What is the 
matter ? They are balkers. Others do well when public 
sentiment is in favor of the truth; but as soon as it 
becomes a reproach to walk in the straight way, they 
can not bear the little persecution that comes, and 
immediately they become balkers. 

I have seen others who made much noise in meet- 
ing and talked a great deal outside about their religion 
and their doings, but who, when it came time for them 
to make some sacrifice for the cause or to do some work 
that required consecration on their part, were ready to 
balk at once and throw the responsibility on others who 
were not balky. There are others who will work hard 
and sacrifice for the cause if they can direct operations ; 
but as soon as they can not lead in the work, or if some 
one questions the wisdom of something they do, they are 



278 HEART TALKS 

ready to throw up everything and quit and have no more 
to do with it, no matter how much good they might do 
if they were content to fill any place in which they 
could be useful. They are balkers. They will work 
only when they can have the honor of leadership. Like 
some balky horses, they will work only so long as they 
can have everything their own way. 

There are many ways in which people balk. There are 
the ones who are always giving up their profession at 
every little thing; they are chronic balkers. God can 
never depend on them. Just when he wants something 
done that they might do if they were in condition for 
work, they have a balky spell and are of no use. Then 
there are the ones w T ho can not go to meeting because 
the sun is too hot or because it looks a little like rain. 
Others balk if the wind blows a little or if they do not 
feel just as good as they have felt at other times. Some 
go along with a profession till new light comes to them, 
but are unwilling to walk in it. They stop attending 
meeting or quit professing or try to go on with a pro- 
fession and not measure up. In any of these cases they 
are balkers. 

Do not be a balker. If there is work to be done, do it. 
If there are sacrifices to be made, make them. If there 
is persecution to bear, bear it. If there are difficulties 
to be overcome, overcome them. If there are hard places 
to pull through, pull through them. If you can fill only 
a minor place, fill it well. If you have trials and dif- 
ficulties and discouragements, pull through anyway. Do 
not be a balker. If you have acquired the habit al- 
ready, quit it. Get down to business and pull your 



BALKERS 279 

share. And do not try to pull independently; pull with 
the rest of God's people. All pull together. "If any 
man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. ' ' 



280 HEART TALKS 

TALK FIFTY-NINE 
SPONGES AND WATERING-CANS 

It was Jesus' custom to draw spiritual lessons from 
the things surrounding him and by some similitude im- 
press upon his hearers a profitable truth; so we may 
get many valuable thoughts from the simple things of 
every-day life. The articles mentioned in the heading 
bring to my mind pictures of two classes of people. 

The most noticeable feature of a sponge is its power 
of absorbing a liquid and retaining it within itself. If 
dipped in or placed in contact with a liquid, it will 
absorb several times its weight. Some people are like 
sponges. They go to meeting and drink in the truth 
time after time. They love it. It delights their hearts. 
They love the singing, the preaching, the testimonies, 
and the prayers. They absorb and absorb, but, like 
the sponge, they give out nothing. The sponge gives up 
what it has taken in only when it is subjected to pres- 
sure. So it is with these human sponges. While they 
love to listen, they have to be urged to do anything. 
They testify only when they feel duty-bound to do so 
or when they are urged by somebody else. They rarely 
pray in meeting. They are among the last in all such 
things. To go where a congregation are mostly sponges 
is to find a few having all to do and to find a dull, insipid 
meeting. Wet sponges will not burn. Neither will the 
lire of God bum in a congregation of sponges. A preach- 
er may be full of fire, but he can not set sponges burn- 
ing. Do vou have to be urged to testify? Are you 



SPONGES AND WATERING-CANS 281 

ready to pray or do whatever you can in the meeting? 
Do you love to talk to people about salvation ? or do you 
speak of it only when some one else starts the conversa- 
tion? Do you have to be constantly urged to do your 
duty? Are you a sponge? 

A watering-can is different. It too will take in to 
its full capacity ; but, as soon as it is turned in the right 
position, it freely gives out again. Streams of cooling, 
refreshing water fall on the thirsty plants. The droop- 
ing flowers raise again their heads to blush in beauty, 
and their fragrance floats out on the balmy air once 
more. A delicious coolness surrounds the place, and we 
delight to be there. While the sponge represents the 
selfish class, the watering-can represents the open-heart- 
ed, cheerful giver — one who is ready to pass on the 
good things and who in return reaps the promise, "He 
that watereth shall be watered also himself. " If the 
watering-can is emptied, does not the gardener fill it 
again, and with fresh water? So, if we are pouring 
out to others, we shall be filled anew. We shall not be 
empty, but fresh and rich in our souls with the watej; 
of life. The great Gardener fills us that we may pour 
out to others, not simply that we may be filled ourselves. 
It is said of Jesus that he "emptied himself" (Revised 
Version.) He became poor that through his poverty 
we should be made rich. 

O beloved, God wants us to be "ready unto every 
good work." Do not be a sponge. Do not have to be 
pressed into duty. Do not live in yourself and for your- 
self. Be no longer content with drinking in. Begin to 
pour out. Be ready to do your part in meeting, yea 



282 HEART TALKS 

everywhere. Be ready to water others. The world is 
indeed "thirsty ground." 

A sponge, if left to itself, gives out by evaporation 
until it becomes hard and dry ; and in such a state it is 
useless. Many people have drunk in the truth and de- 
lighted in it, but instead of pouring out to others, that 
they might be refilled, they have just given out by evap- 
oration until they have become dry and formal and 
lifeless. That is the usual result with spiritual sponges. 
Who are those who are fat and flourishing, those who 
have showers of blessings? Are they the sponges? Nay, 
verily. "Give, and it shall be given.' ' "It is more 
blessed to give [to be a watering-can] than to receive 
[to be a sponge]." 

Now, face the question squarely. "Which of these 
things are you? Look over the past year. Have you 
been ready for duty? Is your testimony always "ripe" 
— ready for the opportunity? Are you ready for ser- 
vice of any kind? If you have been a sponge, quit be- 
ing one. Quit now. Get God to make something bet- 
ter of you. If we are not now sponges, we can soon 
become so by neglect of duty. The only safe way is to 
keep pouring out. 



THE FINAL RETROSPECT 283 

TALK SIXTY 
THE FINAL RETROSPECT 

There is a new grave in the cemetery today. An hour 
ago the sad-hearted mourners, with fast-falling tears, 
looked for the last time upon that familiar face. The 
light has gone out of the eye, and the sound of the voice 
is stilled forever. * ' Finis ' ' has been written at the close 
of his life's story. He no longer is. 

A few days ago he realized that the end was drawing 
nigh. Before that he had looked forward, and it seemed 
to him that his life might run on for years. But it was 
not so to be. The death-angel drew near, and he heard 
the sound of its coming wings, He then began to look 
backward, to see his life as a completed whole. He could 
now see life in its true light; for life does not appear 
the same when we look back upon it from the end as it 
does when our gaze is turned forward in the busy hurry 
of the days of health. When one is brought to the brink 
of the grave, life takes on a different aspect; it appears 
in its true perspective. We are usually so absorbed in 
the present that the past and the future have little place 
in our thoughts. Most lives are lived, not according to 
any plan or purpose, but according to the fleeting in- 
fluence of the present moment. 

Reader, you and I are on the path to the cemetery. 
Some day, and it may not be far off, we shall look back 
over our lives from the end. Day by day, often with 
but little thought, we are building the structure of our 
lives. Yesterday we laid the foundation of today, and 



284 HEART TALKS 

today we lay the foundation of tomorrow. Unless we 
lay a good foundation and build well thereon, when, we 
look back upon our lives at the last we shall find much 
to regret, The wood, hay, and stubble of selfish works 
and selfish purposes will be burned up in the fire that 
will try every man's work. 

How much of the selfish element enters into most 
lives! The ambition, the labor, the planning, is for 
self. If self prospers, what else matters? If self has 
ease and comfort, what matters it about others? If self 
is pleased, is not that enough? Self seems to be the 
mainspring of most lives; is it so in our own? When 
we come to look back at the last, we shall find no pleas- 
ure in viewing our own selfishness or its fruits. We 
shall not desire to retain it in our memories. We shall 
see that whatever was done through selfish motives was 
time and energy lost. 

When we look back, shall we see bitter words, un- 
kind deeds, and unfaithfulness to God and man ? Shall 
we look back upon broken promises? on friends who 
trusted us and were disappointed? Shall we look back 
upon wrongs to our fellow men and sins toward God? 
It seems to me that the keenest regrets that ever come 
to a soul on earth are the regrets that come to him who, 
during his last hours on earth, has to view a misspent 
life. 

How many have said, "Oh, if I could live my life 
over!" Alas! that can not be. My brother, my sister, 
you can live this day but once. You will look back in 
time and eternity and see this day just as you lived it. 
Mot only today, but every day, when it is today, holds 



THE FINAL RETROSPECT 285 

the same momentous responsibility. Let us live today 
as faithful to God and man, as true, pure, just, and kind 
as we shall in the last day wish we had lived. Do not 
think that tomorrow you will live better, and be more 
kind and true and gentle. Today is your day ; tomorrow 
is out of your reach. 

There was one of old who looked back over his life 
and summed it all up in these words: "Vanity of van- 
ities; all is vanity." He was rich and wise; he was a 
mighty king, and had great honors; but he lacked that 
good conscience that comes from a life well spent. He 
had not held back his heart from the enjoyment of any 
pleasure. He had given free rein to his desires. He 
had lived a life of ease and luxury. He had but to 
speak, and he was obeyed. But, alas! when he looked 
back, there was nothing in the scene to give him pleas- 
ure. It was only "vanity and vexation of spirit.' ' 

There was another man who looked back and who 
told us what he saw. His circumstances were very dif- 
ferent from those of the other. He was a prisoner. In 
a little while the sword of the executioner would sever 
the frail bond of life. He knew the time was near, and 
these are his words : u Iam now ready to be offered, and 
the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a 
good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the 
faith.' ' His words are a shout of triumph; there is in 
them the exaltation of final victory. There is no tinge 
of regret, there is no tear of sorrow. What mattered 
it if his way had been rugged and thorny ? What mat- 
tered the thousand perils that had threatened him on 
every side? What mattered the shipwrecks, the scourg- 



286 HEART TALKS 

ings, the stoning, the opposition of false brethren and of 
the heathen, the dungeons, the cold, the weariness, the 
sorrows? He looked back over them all; and his soul, 
glowing with joy, burst out in language of supreme sat- 
isfaction: "I have fought a good fight." 

Xot once had he laid down his weapons. Not once had 
he faltered. Xot for a day had he ceased to be true to 
his Lord. Therefore he could say, "I have kept the 
faith." Though many times he might have avoided 
trouble had he kept back the message of truth, yet how 
glad he w r as that in every instance he had been true! 

Sometimes you will not find it easy to do right, some- 
times you will have to sacrifice and endure, sometimes 
you will be reproached and mocked ; but when you take 
that last retrospective view, the fact that you have been 
true will cause you to be glad, as was Paul of old. Then, 
be true today. Fill today with a full measure of faith- 
ful service. Think not of tomorrow, but do the right, 
in each today, and thus you may exclaim with Paul, 
" Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of right- 
eousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give 
me at that day" (2 Tim. 4:8). 



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